You're My Favorite Guilty Pleasure
by Trebla
Summary: Emily Berretta has an secret obsession: Naruto. She thinks that it's just ink and paper, until she's sucked into the world of Naruto itself. Now, Emily has to find her way home while learning about her mysterious new powers and unocking her past.
1. Chapter 1

Hey, so this is finally the story I wanted to put up on here. Yay!!! So, yeah, in case anyone didn't go to my page and see this, I will be updating every Friday. Hopefully I can keep myself above water with that deadline, because I'm lazy, lol. ;) So yeah, hope you guys like it! :)

As I climbed into bed that night, I grabbed my favorite manga book series of all time; _Naruto_.

Okay, yeah, I know, people are probably looking at me, dumbstruck, saying; "Seriously, Emily? You? The blue-eyed, blond-haired, supermodel girl? _You _like _Naruto_? That's such a kid thing. Why don't you grow up, or something?"  
Yeah, yeah, whatever. So I'm a geek. Deal with it. There's nothing wrong with a little indulgence now and then. It's not like I have _Naruto_ posters all over my room (okay, maybe a few…) and wear _Naruto_ t-shirts (only once at a convention, I promise!) and actually bought one of those Leaf Village headbands (I've never worn it, I swear!)

…Okay. You've got me. _Naruto_ is like my whole life. But a secret life, because I've never told anyone about it. Ever. Not even my pillow.

Fine, laugh if you want, but I'm serious. I'd be dead meat if anyone ever found out I was a huge fan. I have a reputation with the real world, you know. It's not a bad rep, either, if I do say so myself. Which is why I don't want to ruin it with my ultimate guilty pleasure.

Actually, since it seems like confession time at Naruto Fanatics Anonymous, I'll tell you my _real_ ultimate guilty pleasure.

Kakashi. Damn, that man is hot! I know he's just paper and ink, but seriously! And he's so funny, and cute! And insanely sexy, when he wants to be.

And he's a ninja. A ninja! How is that not cool? He's the perfect man all rolled into one nice mysteriously bundled package. And I sort of mean that. I really want to see his face. It breaks my heart when we get so close, and then Masashi Kishimoto just yanks the opportunity right out from under our poor obsessive feet.

Meanie. But the greatest meanie that ever walked the earth.

Okay, so right now I'm reading my favorite out of all of the _Naruto_ series-again. It's actually the second book, and I don't love it because of the action, I love it because of one teensy tiny picture inside. At the beginning of chapter 16, Mr. Kishimoto, the great meanie that he is, put a picture of Kakashi sleeping. No mask, no headband, no Jônin outfit. Just him, in his bedroom- or so I'm assuming, judging by the pictures- and having some sort of set of dog tags around his neck. Of course, no full face exposure, thanks to the well-placed hand and blanket, but still, the most face I'd ever seen in the many _Naruto _books I'd read. It instantly became my favorite book, and it still is to this day.

So, of course I was turning to that page first, to stare at it for an immeasurably long amount of time, before going back and reading the whole thing through, for the other little tidbits of Kakashi that I knew were there. I did this every night at least once before going to bed. I knew this book inside and out, backward and forward. I could even quote whole passages directly from it. It scared even me, sometimes. And if anyone knew about it, it would also scare away any chance I had with my real-life crush- Eric Saunders.

He wasn't a geek, either. We were the match made in heaven, from most people's point of view. Of course those two should go out, people said. Obviously he was the captain of the football team in high school, and she was probably head cheerleader. If they didn't date in high school, why don't they date now, in collage?

Yeah, I know. Shallow, right? Well, if it wasn't for Eric, I would be sticking a stiff middle finger to the popularity castes and all their rules and happily take my place amongst the ranks of geeks who would welcome me with open arms. And if they didn't, I could totally crush them with my level 65 Summoner/Red Mage on Final Fantasy XI, to prove my worthiness.

Eric seemed…different, sometimes. Sure, in collage, no one had the cliques they used to, because no one knew each other when you started. But you made friends, and looser versions of the cast system in high school were established, with groups of people hanging out, rather than the cliques who scorned all others and considered themselves best.

Some, however, couldn't let go. Like Natasha, for example. She had to have been the Queen Bitch when she was in high school, of that there was no doubt. She still acted like it, and she sure as hell looked like it, too. The only difference for her was that now she could get Botox and other fun stuff like that to keep looking it.

Natasha's main goal, from the instant she spotted him, was Eric. My main goal, from the moment I saw him, was to get him to be mine and save him from Natasha before she corrupted him. It seemed to be pretty easy to me. Go out with him, and bingo, saved from Queen Bitch. Simple as that. Plus, I got to be with Eric, too. Seriously, the guy looked like he belonged on the cover of _GQ. _Hell, he probably already had a contract, and he'd be the next cover boy within the month. That's how hot he was.

And yet, I still felt that Kakashi could kick his ass any day of the week. And I don't just mean it literally. Kakashi always had this vibe to him, like he was the real deal all the time, when Eric had to hide himself from the world, pretend to be something different.

_But what if he's not hiding anything better than what he pretends to be? What if the real Eric is _worse_? _The thought entered unbidden into my mind, but I shook it off and tried to blur everything else out by staring at Kakashi's sleeping face. Because it was a black and white drawing, I didn't know if it was night or day, but something told me that it was early morning. And I didn't mean the clock that showed the little hand on twelve, but the hour somewhere in between five and six. (I still laughed every time I looked at it.) It was just a gut feeling I had, maybe some sort of higher level of perception that humans had, but ignored in these modern times, when such senses weren't required.

Or maybe it was the clock. Either way, I was pretty sure it was morning. I could almost see the beams of sunlight lancing through the window, just at the right angle so they didn't shine into his face and wake him up, and the soft breathing that moved the blanket a little each time he inhaled. I could almost hear the ticking of the previously mentioned screwy clock, and it seemed as though everything was in color.

I blinked.

And then had to clap my hands over my mouth to keep from screaming at the top of my lungs.

I wasn't snuggled in my bed, nice and cozy, reading my _Naruto_ manga like I did every night.

I was standing in the corner of an unfamiliar room, and it was early morning.

Trying not to have a panic attack, I crept out as quietly from Kakashi's bedroom as possible, hoping he wouldn't wake up too soon. Because if he did, I was seriously worried about my chances of survival.

Not that I was really much of a threat. He was a highly-skilled, highly trained ninja. A jônin.

And what was I? A terrified college junior from another time, another place, with no skills or training whatsoever, just dropped into his bedroom for no reason at all.

Yeah, like anyone here would believe that.

I realized I was standing in a living room. There wasn't much to it. A couch, large enough for a person to sleep on, was in front of me. It was a little worn, and there were a couple holes in it, but it seemed alright. There was a small coffee table in front of the couch, and there was a small TV in the corner, but it looked dusty. A few pictures hung on the wall. A younger version of Kakashi, without the sharingan eye, with two other ninja who appeared to be his teammates, were in one. In another, there was a man that I recognized as Kakashi's old sensei. Opposite the living room, a small kitchen. It looked hardly used, but the appliances looked dependable enough. Guess the super-special elite ninjas didn't have much time to eat in.

I stood uncertainly in the living room, unsure of what to do next. I certainly wasn't going back into the bedroom, as much as a big part of me wanted to do, just to get a peek of the sexy sleeping Kakashi. He wouldn't be sleeping for very long if I went in there, I reminded myself. I probably sounded like an elephant to his well-attuned ears. I'd have a kunai at my throat before I could even speak.

I opted for the safer option, which was to wait until he woke up to talk to him. If I was lucky, he'd be in a good mood from a good night's sleep, and he wouldn't kill me on the spot. If not…well, I just hoped someone would feed my cat.

"Prraow?" someone asked me. I jumped three feet in the air, sure someone was here to kill me. I looked down, and the breath rushed out of me. It was my cat, Snickers.

I picked her up and cuddled her close to me, trying to calm my pounding heart. She was lying against me when I had been reading the manga, I realized. She must have been sucked in with me, because she had been touching me when it happened.

Walking over to the couch, I curled up on it with Snickers and scratched her chin. Snickers purred and looked at me with her big blue Siamese eyes. I kissed the top of her head, and she purred again.

Suddenly I realized something was off. The colors in this place, though rather plain and ordinary, were much too bright. And Snickers, as I looked at her more closely, looked strange, too… she reminded me of…

I froze. I think I stopped breathing. Slowly, almost afraid to look, I picked up Snickers' tag on her collar, identifying who she was and who someone should call should she run away. It was reflective, and as I looked into it, I saw one blue anime eye that blinked at me in surprise.

I clapped my hands over my mouth to keep from screaming for the second time in ten minutes. I was a cartoon. No, wait, that was wrong. I was _anime._

This was insane. Totally impossible. I was dreaming. I had to be. There was no way that I could possibly have fallen into the world of _Naruto_, and was now an anime. No way. This was all a dream. I must have fallen asleep when I was looking at that picture of Kakashi, and now I only thought that this was real.

It sure as hell didn't feel like a dream, though. Everything felt as it would if I were back home; Snickers' fur was the same, my hands still felt the way they would, and the couch I was sitting on was only slightly uncomfortable, like I'd predicted. It felt like a normal couch, but when I looked at it, it was part of the anime world. It was a strange feeling. Very, very strange.

Maybe I wasn't dreaming.

I pinched myself, just to see what would happen. I had to stifle my cry. I'd pinched myself harder than I'd meant to.

Okay, pain was still working. So, no jumping off cliffs to see if I would live, because it would hurt, and I'd probably die. So, if I died now, would I wake up, like it was a dream? Or would I go into some sort of afterlife, he way people supposedly did when they died?

Wow, this was confusing.

I put my head in my hands, trying not to cry. I really didn't like this.

Suddenly I heard the soft pad of footsteps coming from Kakashi's room. I gasped in surprise before I cold stop myself, and the footsteps ceased.

Now I was really scared. I gathered up Snickers and held her close to me, not wanting her to run away when Kakashi appeared. I was also sort of hoping that the cat would deter Kakashi from holding a kunai to my throat.

It didn't.

In hardly a heartbeat, Snickers was sitting on the couch next to me, meowing in protest, and a kunai was being held against my throat.

Fuck.

"Who are you and why are you here?" Kakashi asked, his voice low and dangerous. Add to that the fact that his voice was rough from sleep, and it was a combination my fangirl self was swooning over. Too bad I was so terrified I couldn't move, or I might have enjoyed it.

My frozen brain almost didn't realize he was also speaking in Japanese. I opened my mouth, almost said something in English, closed it again, tried to remember the Japanese I'd been learning since my freshman year in collage, and opened my mouth again.

"I-I'm Emily Berretta. I'm not any threat to you, so could you please take the kunai from my throat before I faint out of fear?" Brutal honesty combined with a little smart-assiness might have been really, really bad if I wasn't lucky. But, in this moment, I was, and after a moment's hesitation, Kakashi took the kunai away from my throat and sat on the coffee table in front of the couch, still close enough to kill me quickly if he chose. The kunai was being held loosely in his hand, but, from what I knew of Kakashi, he wasn't as relaxed as he seemed.

I also noticed that Kakashi had taken the time to cover up his face and his sharingan eye with his mask and his headband. Guess I wasn't getting lucky today. Oh well. At this moment in time, it wasn't on my top priority list.

"So… Emily," Kakashi said, tripping over the unfamiliar name, "could you please enlighten me with the story of how you managed to get inside my home without my knowing?"

I let out a huge breath. I had known this was coming, but I still wasn't entirely sure how to word it to make it seem like I wasn't a huge Kakashi fangirl. Or a Kakashi fangirl at all. I was quite sure _Naruto_ mangas weren't selling in this world.

"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me," I said honestly. Kakashi eyed me with suspicion, trying to discern whether I was lying. "Right now I would believe anything," he said, sighing and folding his arms across his chest.

I bit my lip. "Okay, fine," I said. "But you asked for it." I gave him the short, glossed over version.

"I'm not from here. And I don't just mean this village, which is pretty obvious, but I mean this entire set of continents. This entire world.

"There are no ninjas where I come from. They are the stuff of stories, legend. At least, not the kind you are. If anyone has any chakra, no one knows how to use it. And…" here I paused, unsure of how to go about this next tricky revelation.

"We know a good deal about your world. This one, I mean," I said, gesturing around us. "Those of us who read the right things know more than the average person on the street. We don't know everything, of course," I said quickly, in case Kakashi thought I was some sort of spy. "But there is some basic information out there."

Kakashi didn't say anything, and of course his face gave nothing away, so I took a deep breath and continued. "And as for how I ended up here, well…I was reading one of those books, and it had pictures of this world, I was studying them, and before I knew it, I was here, completely bewildered and totally frightened."

I lapsed into silence, and waited for Kakashi's response nervously.

I was afraid he would see through my glossy coating and demand to know the truth, which I just couldn't- wouldn't- tell him.

To my surprise, I thought I could see Kakashi smiling under the mask. Well, that wasn't exactly a good sign if I wanted him to believe me.

"Did you really think I was going to believe that?" Kakashi asked me. I sighed and went for a nonchalant look, stretching out on Kakashi's couch and putting my hands behind my head as I stared at the ceiling.

"Told you wouldn't believe me," I said. Kakashi raised his eyebrow as he looked at me.

"Were you hoping that you could get away with something as crazy as that? Hoping that maybe I would be distracted by the absurdity of that story long enough to make your escape?" Kakashi said disbelievingly.

I turned my head and stared at him. "I guess you don't have much faith in the supernatural," I said quietly.

"Do you?" Kakashi asked. I smiled slightly. "I do now."

Kakashi shook his head, still not believing me, and I tried one last tactic. Time to give him a little trivia.

"Did you ever notice how Gaara of the sands and Naruto lead parallel lives?" I asked quietly. Kakashi didn't answer, so I went on. "Both had a demon trapped inside of them at a young age. Their villages scorned them, treated them both like dirt. And here's where the one difference comes in: Gaara gave himself into despair and misery, and is now the creature you see in him today. Naruto never gave up hope. He kept his chin up, and vowed to show everyone what he was made of. He's a good kid, if a little boisterous at times." I smiled and let my eyes drift closed, now trusting Kakashi enough to not kill me where I lay.

"I also know about your sharingan eye," I said suddenly. "I know it's not yours, really, and I know how and who you got it from. I also know that Sasuke wants to kill his brother because he was the one who slaughtered the Uchiha clan. I know that your favorite book series is _Make Out Paradise_, and that you actually wear two masks because you're so afraid that someone will pull down the first and see your face. "Hmm…what else do I know?" I tapped my chin while I thought, and stole a glance at Kakashi to see if he believed me yet. He looked pretty close to believing _something, _that was for sure. I just hoped that it was something along the lines of what I'd told him.

Then I remembered something. "Oh! I guess this isn't something I really know for sure, it's just an observation on my part. I think that the fourth Hokage didn't seal the nine-tailed fox demon inside a random orphaned child, I think he sealed the demon into his own son, long-lost or secret, I don't know. His son being, of course, Uzumaki Naruto…in theory." I looked up at Kakashi. "So, how'm I doing so far?" I asked.

Kakashi was shaking his head, holding up his hands. "Alright, okay," he said, and I could hear the humor in his voice, "I may not believe your story, but I do know you're not from here. Your name, your speech, your clothing… I've never seen its like. Even if you're lying about not being from this world, you are most definitely from very far away, and appearing under very odd circumstances." Kakashi paused and thought for a moment. "Of course the Hokage will need to be informed of this…interesting turn of events," he said slowly. "But," he said suddenly, looking at me, "I think we'll just tell him that you're from very far away, and you've had a long journey. You don't want to be locked up for your wild claims, do you?" He smiled again before standing up and walking into his bedroom. "You're going to have to wait before you get an audience with the Hokage, though," he called over his shoulder. "Just give me a few minutes and we can go."

"Oh, darn. I was so very excited to tell the Hokage my story and get thrown in the loony bin as soon as possible," I muttered to myself in English.

"I don't know what you just said, but it sounded sarcastic, so shut up," Kakashi called again. I pointed my middle finger at the door in response and settled down to wait with Snickers as I compsed a good story that _wouldn't _get me locked up in an asylum.

Ten minutes later, Kakashi walked out of his bedroom, shirtless, with his hair dripping. He was rubbing his face on a towel, and he paused, remembered I was here, than swore and turned tail, escaping into his room.

My face was frozen, with my mouth hanging open, my eyes wide, and some drool hanging out of the edge of my mouth. I shook my head and slapped myself repeatedly, but I could feel a huge grin spreading over my face.

Hmm. Kakashi had a six-pack. Yummy. Too bad I didn't live in this world, or I'd have been all over him. I was suddenly jealous of any and every girlfriend the man had ever had. Those bitches. Life just wasn't fair sometimes.

Kakashi emerged shortly after that, looking embarrassed but fully dressed, to my secret disappointment.

"Sorry," he said, looking sheepish. "I'm used to living alone, and I forgot you wre here."

I was surprised. "No girlfriend?" I asked as I stood up, still holding Snickers. Kakashi shook his head. "I don't date," he said.

My heart fell a little as I heard those words. Not that it really mattered, of course. I couldn't-shouldn't- even try to go out with him, because I was going to find a way back home, and we'd never see each other again. Simple as that.

Plus, there was also that teeny tiny little fact that he probably didn't like me anway.I didn't exactly make a very good first impression, if you ask me.

We started to leave Kakashi's house, when Kakashi stopped and looked at me oddly. "Why are you taking that cat with you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. I hugged Snickers closer to my chest.

"First off, her name is Snickers," I said defensively. Kakashi looked at me oddly once again, and I sighed. "It's my favorite candy bar," I explained. "I guess you don't have them here. Anyway, second, she's a Simaese cat, which means she's a little weird by nature, and I don't want her ruining your house. Third, she had a friend back home, and, as Siamese cats will do when looking for their lost friend, she'll go crazy trying to find him. So, she's coming," I said, staring him down.

Kakashi sighed and shook his head. "You are a very strange woman," he said, and led me to my meeting with the Hokage.


	2. Chapter 2

haha... right now it's actually 2:30 in the morning, but it still counts as Friday!! XD i had to restrain myself all week to keep myself from posting all of the chapters i currently had (which is 9... yeah, i'm working on chapter ten now baby!! woo! XD) because if i did, then you'd all be stuck waiting a month or more before the next chapter got out. (i might be exagerating a little... but i can be lazy and not write sometimes, so things don't get done as quickly as you all would prefer.) so yeah... here's chapter two! :D hope you guys like it. i've discovered recently this cool green button at the bottom of the page, and i usually don't ask for this, but i really love it when people tell me how good or bad i'm doing. so, if you please press that pretty green button and write a few words, even if it's "I hate this it's a piece of shit," whatever. "i don't care what you think, as long as it's about me."  
XD rambling... so yeah. chapter 2.

* * *

We climbed what I deemed to be one too many stairs to reach the Hokage's personal office, with Snickers weaving between my feet and meowing pitifully as she looked for her best friend, KitKat, who had not made the journey with us. I did my best to console her, murmuring to her quietly in English, the language I believed she understood better, and picking her up and petting her, but her cries did not cease. Kakashi looked ready to throw her into the wall, which I did not want, so I put Snickers on my shoulders and hoped the end of the stairs would come soon.

They did, finally, and I had to take a moment to catch my breath before following Kakashi into the Hokage's office.

He looked exactly as Masashi Kishimoto portrayed him to be; and old man, in his white and red outfit. Still regal and calm, not given to senility as most of the elderly are bound to do sometimes. But still an old man, too old to still be doing the job that was thrust upon his shoulders. But he bore the burden quietly, uncomplaining, ruling his people in the absence of one more able.

I inclined my head to the Fire Shadow, suddenly feeling very small and insignificant. This man seemed to radiate strength and power, despite his age.

"Hello, Kakashi," the Third Hokage said, nodding his head in Kakashi's direction. Kakashi nodded his head in return, and turned to introduce me.

"This is Emily Berretta," he said, gesturing to me. Snickers meowed in protest, and Kakashi's mouth twitched behind his mask. "And her cat, Snickers," he amended. Snickers looked satisfied, and suddenly jumped down from my shoulders, making a beeline for the Hokage.

"Snickers, don't-" I said, reaching out to her, but it was too late to stop her. Snickers nimbly bounded up on the Hokage's desk, stepped delicately around the scrolls littering it, almost swiped over a bottle of ink with her tail, and jumped into the Hokage's lap.

I gasped, horrified beyond belief. But the Hokage was smiling as he scratched under Snickers' chin, making her purr loudly.

The Hokage chuckled. "Cats always seem to have a mind of their own, don't they?" he said, setting Snickers down on the floor. She ran over to me, and I scooped her up quickly, worried about her getting into more trouble.

"I-I'm so sorry, sir, I didn't mean to let Snickers- I mean, my ca-" I tried to stammer. The Hokage cut me off by raising a hand.

"Young lady, I suggest you start speaking in a language more familiar to us, for the benefit of both present," he said, gesturing himself and Kakashi, who was once again looking at me with an amused smile that I could see through his mask.

I swore quietly under my breath before speaking once more, remembering to switch languages this time.

"I apologize, Lord Hokage," I said, bowing slightly. "I do not often have the chance to use your language, so I occasionally forget and revert to my native language, which is English."

The Hokage looked at me steadily for a moment. "I think you should start at the beginning of your tale," he said.

So I did. Of course, I left out the part about being from another world, and about the books. Something told me the Hokage wouldn't even begin to accept that as well as Kakashi, who had actually woken up to having me in his living room.

Instead, I told him a story that was partially true; that I was from a very faraway land called America, and there were not many people there who spoke the language we were speaking now, so I used it very infrequently. Hence, my constant switches into English when my concentration lapsed.

My family had been wanderers of the land, having been born in the same village but both sharing the same desire to leave it and find what the countryside had to offer. (This was sort of kind of true; my mom and dad had both been born in a small town in Illinois, and when they married, they started to travel across America in their van. Hardcore hippies, they were.)

My twin sister and I had been born sometime in our travels, and we had grown up on the road. (Also mostly true- but occasionally we stopped back at home to give us some time to rest and recuperate before the next adventure.)

My parents had eventually settled down when they got too old to travel. (This was pretty much true, but they sometimes still went on trips around the country.)

Unable to settle down after our parents did, my sister and I hit the road once more, hopping from town to town, living off what we could. Eventually, my sister found a man in a village and married him, and we kept in touch when I was nearby. (The marriage thing was true-once me and my sister had hit the age of ten, though, our parents decided that a public schooling would be a better education than the homeschooling they had been giving us.)

"Where was this village?" the Hokage asked with interest.

"It was in a large village in America, called Chicago," I answered. "The last I'd heard, she was doing well and had children, so I suppose the settled life was more for her than I."

The Hokage nodded slowly, thinking. Finally, he asked a question that caught me off guard.

"Why are you traveling, Emily?" he asked me, looking at me intently.

It wasn't a dangerous question, just one I hadn't seen coming. Still, I had pondered upon this one myself many times, staring out the window of another shitty motel, wondering where my life was going.

"I'm not really sure," I said slowly, "but I feel as though something is missing. I suppose I am searching to find what is incomplete in my life. When I was young, I traveled because it was what my parents had done, and I loved it. Now, though, I search."

Snickers squirmed and mewed in my arms, and the Hokage looked at her for a moment, then returned his gaze to me.

"Why is she distressed?" he asked. I sighed. "She had a playmate when my sister and I traveled together." I smiled slightly. "His name was KitKat. When my sister married, she took KitKat to live in her husband's home, and I took Snickers. It's been a few years since I've seen my sister, but she remembers still." Snickers mewed softly again, and I petted her gently. "She misses her kin," I said softly.

No one said anything for a moment. Then the Hokage was suddenly all business, leaning his elbows on his desk and lacing his fingers together.

"So, Emily," he said between puffs of his pipe, "I assume you've come to me for a place to stay, because you have no money whatsoever, and wish to appeal to me for help."

I blinked, surprised at his perceptiveness. "Yes, sir, that is correct," I said, bowing slightly.

The Hokage sat back in his chair and thought for a moment.

"Kakashi," he said slowly after a moment. "Isn't there a vacant house next to yours?" Kakashi nodded.

"That is true," he said. "The house was vacated only recently, as a matter of fact. Some of the furniture was left behind, so I believe that you can be settled in immediately," he said, speaking this last part to me. "With your permission, of course," he added to the Hokage.

The Hokage nodded, looking satisfied. "Yes, you have my permission," he said, waving a hand. Then he looked at me and said something rather odd. "I hope you enjoy our village, Emily, and that you pick up on your skills quickly."

I wasn't entirely sure what that meant, so I nodded and bowed.

The Hokage smiled slightly, as if sensing my confusion, and dismissed us.

As we were walking out of the building, Kakashi sent me an odd look.

"What was that last part about?" he asked me. I shrugged. "Search me," I answered. Kakashi smiled slightly, and I blushed as I realized what he was thinking.

"Kakashi! You perv!" I exclaimed, smacking his arm. Kakashi grinned and danced away from me, avoiding any further attacks. "Sorry, I can't help it," he said, holding up his hands helplessly. I snorted.

"Yeah, don't I know that," I said. "What with that stupid book you read all the time." Kakashi just grinned again, and I rolled my eyes.

Suddenly something occurred to me. "Hey, Kakashi, don't you have to train your team or something?" I asked him. Kakashi stopped walking, sighed and continued on his way, but in a different direction this time.

"It creeps me out a little to know how much you know," Kakashi said as we walked. "And you're right, I do have a team to train. Team 7. Today is their first day. We'll see how well they do." As he spoke, Kakashi's one visible eye hardened, and the tone of his voice changed, became colder. This was the serious Kakashi, the one I'd read about so many times in fighting, but had never actually seen with my own eyes. Now that I was, I sort of wished I hadn't.

Shaking off my unease, I asked another question. "So why aren't you rushing to your team right now? I mean, you're probably really, late, right?" I said. Kakashi nodded and shrugged, his fierce persona changing back to that of the casual, relaxed Kakashi.

"They've probably been waiting for a while now, I think they can stand a few more minutes," he answered. I nodded thoughtfully. "Good point. But what am I- ow!"

"What happened?" Kakashi asked me as I picked up my foot to examine it. I sucked in my breath, feeling woozy. There was a large, jagged piece of glass stuck in the bottom of my foot. I'd stepped on it unknowingly, forgetting that I hadn't been wearing any shoes.

Kakashi's eye widened slightly at the size of the glass shard in my foot. "Damn," he muttered under his breath. "Come on. Let's get you to a hospital," he said, helping me limp as quickly as I could to the nearest hospital, which was about fifteen minutes of hopping, for me.

They tended to my foot quickly, as business was slow that day. I gritted my teeth and dug my fingernails into my hands when they pulled the glass shard out, but it was over quickly, and antiseptic was being applied to my wound.

The whole thing took around another half an hour, during which I felt really guilty that I was holding Kakashi up even more. But when I tried to apologize, he just held a hand up, smiling behind his mask. "It's not your fault. Besides, now I have a good reason to be late," he said.

He did have a point. But we still had to get to the training area where Kakashi was supposed to meet Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke. I knew it was going to take us forever the moment I tried to stand on my own two feet. I couldn't put any pressure on my foot, which forced me to either walk with that foot on my heel or on my toes. Neither was getting us very far, and my foot was starting to throb. Finally, Kakashi scooped me up in his arms so I didn't have to walk at all.

Blushing, I kept my face turned from Kakashi as I mumbled a thank-you. We made much better time this way, and before I knew it, Kakashi was setting me down behind a tree and motioning for me to keep quiet. Then he disappeared, and I knew that the events that had transpired in the first edition of Naruto were about to happen, right in front of me.

Moving awkwardly because of my foot, I inched around the tree until I could see what was happening.

Kakashi was explaining the bell exercise which I knew that all three would fail miserably, and as I watched, I could practically read the thoughts on the faces of the three, probably because I knew what they were.

Sasuke had obviously decided that everything he did on this team would be solo, because he thought Naruto was a bumbling idiot and Sakura was too love-struck to really be of any use. Naruto was going to outshine Sasuke, as usual, and Sakura was determined to follow around or help Sasuke in any way that she could.

Kakashi was right; these three needed a serious wake-up call.

The exercise had begun, and Sasuke and Kakashi were doing some fierce hand-to-hand combat. Suddenly Sasuke jumped back and began to do rapid hand-signs. I remembered this; Sasuke was about to use a fire-style technique. Somehow, Naruto had slinked off and Sakura was probably going to be soon entrapped in that horrible nightmare of hers. Things were going according to plan, I supposed.

Moving back to my original spot, I sighed and allowed my eyes to drift closed. I hadn't gotten any sleep yet, and all the traumatic events of the past few hours had me tired out. I supposed I could take a quick cat nap, and then get myself introduced to the three genin. Kakashi might be my favorite _Naruto_ character of all time, but that didn't mean I wasn't interested in everyone else.

Before I had even realized it, I was asleep against the tree.


	3. Chapter 3

"Emily. Emily, wake up," a voice floated into my head. Who was that? Were my cats suddenly talking? And why did it feel like someone was beating on my foot?

I mumbled something incoherent, and the same voice chuckled.

Suddenly, everything came rushing back to me, and my eyes snapped open.

Kakashi was squatting on the ground in front of me, looking amused. Or, as amused as a guy with a mask and only one visible eye could be.

"I thought I was home for a moment," I said, unable to hide my sorrow. The longer I stayed here, the more I worried about things at home. I was missing classes as we spoke, and things were probably going sour in my refrigerator. But what worried me most was KitKat, alone and hungry in my empty apartment, with his best friend and sister missing from his home. I knew Snickers missed him too. I could tell by the way she looked around anxiously everywhere she went with me, like she was looking for someone.

I gasped suddenly as I realized something. "Omigod! Snickers! Where'd she go?" I asked frantically, trying to sit up.

Kakashi's voice was steady as he helped me up slowly. "Slow down, Emily. You might hurt yourself. Everything's fine. After you fell asleep, I kept those three busy with a few tricks, and I put Snickers in your home. She's fine, and I closed all doors and windows so she'll be there when you get back."

Wow. He did a lot for me. I smiled gratefully at him as he helped me across the field to where Sakura, Naruto- who was tied up, so I guess I slept through the part where Kakashi passes them too- and Sasuke were waiting.

I noticed something odd when we were about halfway across the field. "Kakashi?"

"What?" he asked me.

"Did you notice that I can put all of my foot on the ground now?"

That stopped him short. We both looked at my foot, still wrapped in a bandage, but resting fully on the ground, with only some throbbing instead of the almost unbearable pain of a few hours ago.

Kakashi looked at me, his eyebrow raised in a silent question. I sighed. "No, I wasn't faking it, and no, this has never happened to me before," I said, ticking off the two things on my fingers. Kakashi's look was one of surprise now. "How did you know that's what I wanted to know?" he asked. I shrugged. "Who wouldn't?" I answered.

Kakashi only smiled slightly at that comment, and we continued on to the three genin.

"Who's that?" Naruto wanted to know when we finally reached the three logs embedded in the ground, to which one of Naruto was tied to.

"Why is she wearing pajamas? And why is her foot bandaged? And-" Sakura cut off Naruto's next words by smacking him in the back of the head.

"Shut up, you moron!" she hissed at him. Then she turned to me and smiled sweetly. "Sorry about that. That idiot right there is Naruto," Sakura said, pointing at Naruto, who was trying to rub the back of his head, but couldn't because of the ropes tied around him. "This is Sasuke," Sakura continued, and I could hear the dumbstruck admiration in her voice. She had totally fallen for him, but only for his looks, I suspected, not for the person underneath them. Sasuke would never open up enough for someone to actually know him; he was too set on his revenge plan for that. I pitied him and every girl that had fallen for him, because nothing would ever happen.

I nodded to the three of them and smiled. "Hey, there. I'm Emily, and I'm mostly the reason that Kakashi was late today," I said.

I could almost feel Kakashi rolling his eyes, and I turned to him. "What?" I demanded. Kakashi sighed. "I told you already, it's not your fault you stepped on a piece of broken glass. And besides, when I- found you," he said, stumbling a little as he kept up the cover story, "I had already overslept by at least two hours. So, it's not your fault," Kakashi concluded.

I stuck my tongue out at him. "Yeah, whatever," I muttered. Kakashi chuckled, and I rolled my eyes as I limped over to one of the logs, so I could lean against it to rest my foot, which had started to throb more painfully again.

"I've never seen you around here before. Where are you from?" Sakura asked me. "Far, far away from here. And I'm wearing pajamas because I was walking outside this morning and I stepped on a piece of glass, like Kakashi said," I added, grinning a little at Naruto. He had always been my favorite out of Squad 7. Always so determined to reach his goal, and so brimming with a power he hardly knew anything about. He fascinated me, in a way.

Suddenly, my stomach rumbled, and I looked longingly at the half-eaten bento boxes, still sitting on the ground in front of Naruto. I hadn't eaten anything since dinner, which had been several hours before I had even come here. I was starving.

"I need food," I whined, putting a hand on my stomach. "Maybe we could go get ramen? Please?" I begged, giving Kakashi puppy dog eyes, because he was the guy with the money… I hoped.

Kakashi rolled his visible eye and beckoned that I and the other two follow him.

"Hey guys, wait! Don't leave me here! Come back!" Naruto protested, struggling against his bonds wildly as we walked away.

I chewed my lip, thought about it, and quickly ran back to Naruto, my injured foot protesting the whole way.

Naruto looked confused as I grabbed one of the many kunai littering the ground and sawed at the ropes binding him.

"Why are you helping me?" he asked as I finally cut through the ropes, and they fell away from him. I grinned at him.

"Because I like you, kid," I answered, ruffling his hair. "Now come on, let's eat. I could hear your stomach rumbling even in my sleep!"

Naruto smiled and looked away, and I smiled softly at him, knowing his terrible history.

As we walked to catch up with the other three, considered the kunai I still held in my hand for a moment before slipping it into the pocket of my pajama bottoms. I had no ninja skills to speak of whatsoever, so I figured a sharp blade would be better than nothing, should I run into trouble.

We reached the restaurant, which I recognized as the one that Naruto ate at when he could get someone to buy for him. I grinned hungrily, already drooling at the thought of a steaming bowl of ramen being placed in front of me. My only hope was that I wouldn't look like an idiot trying to use the chop sticks. But hell, right now I was so hungry that I didn't care how stupid I might look. I'd eat the thing with my hands, if I had to.

We all sat down at the stools, and I noticed Sasuke was missing.

"Hey, where'd Sasuke go?" I asked Kakashi, whom I was sitting next to. He shrugged as the cook placed bowls of steaming ramen in front of us. I tried to gobble mine down as fast as I could, but those damn chopsticks just wouldn't let me.

"Sasuke left just before we reached here," Kakashi said, politely refusing a bowl of ramen for himself. I looked at him curiously. "Why aren't you getting anything for yourself?" I asked.

Kakashi smiled behind his mask as he pointed to his face. I immediately felt stupid, and concentrated on my food so Kakashi didn't see my blush.

Around halfway through my second bowl I was getting the hang of the chopsticks, and finished quickly, feeling proud of myself.

"Okay, next order of business; getting me some clothes," I said. "And shoes," I tacked on as an afterthought.

"Don't you have clothes already?" Sakura asked. Oops. I thought quickly.

"Well, yes, I do," I answered her, "but most of them are rather worn from my years on the road, and my shoes are hardly wearable anymore, they've got so many holes. So, I need to go shopping. But, I have no money. Damn," I swore as I realized this.

Suddenly, there was money hanging in front of my face, and Kakashi was holding it. "Try not to spend it all," he said, as I took the money hesitantly.

"But- but I can't pay you back," I said, not really liking this situation. I needed to get a job, and fast, if I was going to live here for any amount of time.

Kakashi waved off my protests. "It's fine," he said. "I don't mind, really." I chewed on my lip, unhappy, but Sakura was bouncing around like an excited puppy.

"Ooh! I can help you shop! I know all the great stores and everything!" she said eagerly.

"I don't know…" I said uncertainly, worried more about Sakura's sense of fashion rather than her ability to pick out stores. When I wasn't playing the popular role, I was more of a jeans and t-shirts kind of girl. And flip flops. I had been in love with flip flops back home.

Sadness welled up inside me, and to push it back, I agreed to Sakura's invitation to go shopping.

"Have fun," Kakashi said, chuckling as he watched my frightened face as I was dragged off by Sakura, who was blabbering the whole way.

Finally, we reached a shoe store, which had been my first request.

"All I need is a simple pair of sandals," I told Sakura. "I think I can handle this one on my own, so you can browse or something."

Looking slightly put off, Sakura did as I suggested as I scanned the shelves, looking for a good pair. I had always thought the open-toed sandals worn by mainly everyone in the _Naruto_ series were ugly, so I was hoping for something a little different.

A woman who I assumed was the manager of the store popped up next to me and asked me if I needed any help.

"I need sandals," I told her. "Nothing fancy or flashy. Something simple and comfortable that I can wear all the time."

The woman thought for a moment before digging around in the shelves. She came up with a pair of sandals that I liked immediately. They were the cool bamboo-weave kind with the chunks of wood on the bottom, like platforms. The straps were purple, and I bought them immediately and put them on my feet, getting used to the odd style.

I also bought a pair of the ugly black open-toed sandals, because they looked more sensible than the shoes I was wearing now. I wasn't sure what I would be doing that would require good shoes, but hey, it never hurts to be prepared, right?

Happy with my purchases, I allowed Sakura to drag me to what I was worried about most; the clothing store.

"This'll be the fun part," Sakura said as we walked in. I groaned inwardly as I saw that most of the women's clothes were dresses or kimonos of some sort. Hardly a t-shirt to be found.

The men's section, however, had things that were more to my interest. Pants, kapris, t-shirts…it had it all!

I tried to head for that section, by was abruptly dragged in the other direction by Sakura, who was having none of it.

"What are you doing? Come on, all the good stuff is over here!"

I cursed under my breath and vowed to buy at least one pair of pants from the men's section before I left here today.

Sakura made me try on dress after dress, and though some were pretty, I kept looking longingly at the men's section, with its comfy, baggy pants and its nice, no-hassle shirts.

Sakura noticed my frequent glances and sighed in exasperation.

"Alright, I'll make you a deal," she said grudgingly. "You buy three dresses, and you can go over there and get whatever you want."

"Two."

"Deal." We shook on it, and I grinned, happy to get the chance to find something I'd actually wear out, rather than this stuff that looked pretty in the store, but then I'd shove in a closet and never see again when I got home.

I grabbed my two dresses of choice, having picked them out earlier from the 'looks pretty good on me' pile, which, to my surprise, was fairly large. I guess Japanese-style dresses were more suited to my figure than anything American.

I hurried over to the men's section after that, leaving Sakura with my two dresses and a little cash to use on herself, because she'd had to put up with my annoying sense of fashion the whole time we were here. She deserved it, I figured. I could be as stubborn as a mule when I wanted to be.

Finally, we left the store, bags in hand. I was pleased to discover we hadn't actually spent all of the money Kakashi gave me, so I wouldn't owe him as majorly as I'd thought. This was a relief to me, because I was huge on paying back debts. I just felt so guilty when I didn't do something nice in return to people who helped me out, so I had to do something.

I'd been fairly pleased with my haul. I'd gotten the two pairs of sandals, all the underclothes I'd needed, the two dresses, and a couple of pairs of men's kapris and women's t-shirts. Surprisingly, I'd found the shirts in the women's section, hidden away behind a rack of hideous dresses.

After we'd paid for our things, I'd immediately gone back into the dressing room and changed into a pair of gray kapris and a red t-shirt, so I didn't feel like people were staring at me all the time. After a moment's deliberation, I'd grudgingly put on the black open-toe sandals, too, because the purple straps on the other ones clashed with the red of the shirt.

I'd also found a pocket for the kunai I'd picked up, which, admittedly, wasn't too hard, considering the kapris had enough pockets to hold a closetful of things.

Sakura and I split to go our separate ways at the ramen restaurant. I thanked her for helping me out with the shopping, and for putting up with my mulish attitude the whole time. Sakura nodded and accepted my thanks before hurrying off, probably to try on her new outfits in the mirror and imagine what Sasuke would think of them.

If he actually paid any attention to any girls, that is. But poor little Sasuke, whose family had been slaughtered viciously by his own brother, the man he had sworn to kill, had been forever altered that one terrible night. I'd only read about it, but the images were burned into my mind forevermore. The pain the boy must have felt to see his world come crashing down around him, all because of one person, was unfathomable. It was no wonder he was the way he was. A cold, emotionless husk of the person he could have been. A fighting machine, but nothing more.

I shook my head sadly as I approached my new home, proud of myself for having found it on my own. The house looked inviting but empty, as the lights were all off inside, but that was no matter. It had been an exhausting day, and I was ready to just fall asleep on the floor, if that's what it would take to get me some quality rest time.

Climbing the steps to the door, I could hear the yowling before I even opened it. Poor Snickers jumped out at me before I'd even gotten the door the whole way open, and I put down my bags to cuddle her, apologizing for leaving her alone for so long.

Letting Snickers climb onto my shoulders, I grabbed my bags and shut the door behind me as I examined my new place.

It was mostly empty, with a single chair in the corner, and, as I walked through the rooms, a single bed with some sheets and a pillow on it.

"Not exactly rich, are we, Snick?" I said to Snickers, who meowed loudly in response. I sighed as I remembered she hadn't eaten anything for a few hours, too.

"Sorry, baby," I said, scratching Snickers' chin as I walked around some more. Finding a door that was closed, I poked my head through and discovered a small backyard, complete with a tall fence around the whole thing. The yard itself was empty save for some scrawny-looking bushes in the corner. Luckily, the fence seemed too high to jump, so I let Snickers have the run of the place, seeing as A) I hoped she would catch something to feed herself, and B) I had no litterbox.

I was so poor. I needed a job.

And a fresh change of bandages, I realized as I took a look at my foot to see how it was holding up. The bandages were dirty and slightly torn from a day of walking on them in the dirt, and a quick search through the house provided no fresh wrappings.

I sighed. Tonight, I would have to depend on Kakashi…again.

I made my way over to Kakashi's front door, feeling like a complete loser to have to depend on him once again for something I didn't have.

But right now, he was all I really had. And he wasn't even mine, in any sense of the word.

I knocked on Kakashi's door, and he answered it, still in full uniform.

"Oh, hey, Emily," Kakashi said, nodding at me. "What's up?"

"I need to change the bandages on my foot, and if I had anything in that house of mine, I would do it myself. But, seeing as the only things in it are a chair and a bed, I figured you might be in some sort of willing mood to help me out."

"Of course," Kakashi said, stepping aside to let me in. Once again I found myself in Kakashi's living room, but this time I was invited.

Kakashi pointed me to the washroom, and I unwrapped the bandages on my foot and began to clean off the wound. What I saw there made me stare in wonder.

"Kakashi?" I called, my voice quivering a little.

"Yes?" he answered, coming to the door of the washroom.

"Come look at my foot," I whispered, still unable to believe it.

Looking worried, Kakashi quickly moved to my side and examined the bottom of my foot himself. His eye widened in shock.

"This…this is amazing," Kakashi whispered, touching the cut gently. What had once been a fresh, deep cut was now a half-healed wound that looked as though it wouldn't even leave a scar.

"Why is it so well-healed?" I asked, biting my lip in worry.

Kakashi sighed. "I don't know," he admitted. "I've never seen anything like this before. No human being should be able to heal this quickly."

That wasn't good news.

My voice cracked a little as I spoke. "What's wrong with me?" I whispered. "What's going on?"

Kakashi could only shake his head, but he did he best to console me.

"Look, it could be that the wound wasn't as deep as we'd first thought…" he said, but I could tell that he didn't really believe it.

I bit my lip and finished bandaging the cut. Standing up, I nodded slightly to Kakashi as I said, "Thank you for the bandages. I'll check in again in the morning to tell you how the cut looks. Goodnight."

As I walked away calmly, I knew Kakashi's eyes were following me, but he didn't say anything to stop me.

I walked back into my own home, and into the bedroom. Curling up on the bare mattress, I let all the built-up emotions that I had been hiding through the day out of me.

I sobbed heavily, my tears soaking into the still-unmade bed. I just wanted it all to be over. I didn't want to be anime, or be stuck in a strange empty house, missing one of my cats, or have to remember to speak in a foreign language all the time…

I also wanted all my weird healing powers to go away. I didn't care if it was just a fluke. I just wanted everyone to leave me alone.

When my tears finally slowed, I was so exhausted that I just fell asleep where I lay.


	4. Chapter 4

yay!! chapter four!!! a tthe crack of 12:21 in the morning, i, Brynn, a.k.a. InsanityIsTheNewBlack, have faithfully updated on Friday yet again. :D i don't just do it for me, either. if i wrote things just for me, then i probably wouldn't continue them. this time, though, i have people who want to read, and who tell me that they enjoy my stories. :D you have no idea how happy that makes me when i see a new review on my stories. so yeah, thanks so much for that.

oh! i forgot about this the first three chapters, so i'll do it now. Deidara, will you do the honors??

Deidara: sure, un. Brynn does not own any of the Naruto characters or the places they inhabit. they belong to Masashi Kishimoto, yeah.

Tobi: but Emily and Snickers belong to Brynn!!

Me: thank you, Tobi. you are a very good boy. *pats head and gives cookie*

Tobi: *dances happily* Tobi thanks you very much, Brynn-chan!

Deidara: *glowers at having the spotlight stolen*

Me: *gives Deidara cookie*

Deidara: *grins happily*

ok, now on with the story!!!

* * *

The next morning I woke up to a cat sniffing my face, meowing loudly. Snickers.

Sitting up and stretching, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. As I did, my gaze fell on my bandaged foot, which wasn't responding with any pain or throbbing whatsoever.

Almost afraid to look, I unwrapped the bandages slowly. The last one fell away, and I turned the sole of my foot upwards, holding my breath.

The wound was gone.

No scars, no hint that I'd even sustained a foot injury, except perhaps for the new pink skin all around the area where I'd once had the cut.

Putting my foot back on the ground, I noticed I was trembling as I stood up and got ready for the day. I supposed I'd have to skip breakfast, as there wasn't any food here.

I'd decided the night before that I'd tag along with the new genin and Kakashi, to see what grunt jobs they really had to do at the bottom level. Hell, maybe I'd get paid for helping out.

I hung around Kakashi's front door for at least twenty minutes before getting bored. I figured he probably wouldn't come out until the afternoon, anyway, so I decided to meet up with Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto and wait for Kakashi to get his lazy ass over to us.

As I approached the bridge that they were waiting on, I could see the three had been waiting for a while already. Packs discarded, Sakura and Naruto were sitting on the ground, but Sasuke, ever the vigilant one, was standing. All three looked bored, but when Sakura noticed me, her face got hopeful.

"Hey, Emily!" she called, jumping up and waving at me. I smiled at her as I approached. "Hey, Sakura," I greeted her. "How's it going?"

I gave a cordial nod to Sasuke as I passed, which he returned. And I grinned at Naruto as I sat down next to him. "What's up, dude?" I said, holding out my fist to him. Naruto stared at it blankly, and I sighed and grabbed his fist, tapping it to my own.

"That's your first lesson in the ways of my country," I told him. "Knuckle-touching is one of many common forms of greeting, though it's not very formal. Most people who use it are friends, so don't go around trying to knuckle-touch with business partners." I grinned crookedly at Naruto, and he returned the grin.

"What about that word you used? 'Dude'?" Naruto asked curiously.

"It's slang, but it's very versatile. People use it in many situations. Some people just refer to other people with it, some people greet each other with it, but it doesn't really mean anything," I answered, shrugging.

I could tell Sakura was itching to ask me more questions about where I came from, but her impatience won out.

"Where's Kakashi-sensei? Did you bring him with you?" she asked eagerly. I shook my head.

"No, I don't have him with me," I said, shaking my head. "He's probably sleeping, though. He'll probably be here sometime in the afternoon, the lazy ass."

"So I'm a lazy ass, eh?" Kakashi said from behind me. I whirled around to find him standing there calmly, looking at me.

I grinned. "Huh. I guess I slept for longer than I'd thought. And don't give us any shit about 'getting lost' in the village you've grown up in, because we all know you were just sleeping," I said, putting air quotes around "getting lost."

"How's your foot?" Kakashi asked me abruptly.

My face hardened. "Healed," I said shortly, shoving my hands into my pockets. "Now are we going, or not?" I demanded.

Kakashi's manner gave away nothing as he spun on his heel and walked back into the village, but I knew this revelation had to be sending his mind in a whirl. Lord knows it did mine.

Though Kakashi said nothing, I did see Sasuke frown in confusion. The boy was sharper than I had remembered. Of course he was, though, being of the Uchiha bloodline. Naruto and Sakura, on the other hand, looked completely clueless as to why Kakashi and I had exchanged words like that. I was perfectly fine with their confusion, though. The less they knew the better. I was going to be out of here soon, anyway, with the rest of them none the wiser.

It was only until the three genin were far ahead of us that Kakashi actually spoke to me.

"I'm sorry I said that," he said, keeping an eye on his team as we walked. "I know that's a bit of a sore sport for you, and I called you out on it."

I sent him a glance. "It's alright. I was kind of being an ass anyway, so I guess I deserved that," I said, shrugging. We walked in silence for a few more moments, before Kakashi spoke again.

"I have a theory," he said slowly. "But not, unfortunately, a theory of why you've suddenly developed these miraculous healing powers."

Now I turned to look at Kakashi fully. "Okay, so what's the theory?" I prodded.

"This would need to be tested a little more before I am certain about this," Kakashi said slowly, "but I think that the normal process of healing is greatly increased in you when you sleep."

I tilted my head, thinking about this. It was possible this was true, I realized. If I had amazing healing powers when I was awake, that whole time after I met Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto should have been healing my foot. But when we left for ramen, and when Sakura and I went shopping, there wasn't any significant healing. Yet, after I had napped a few hours, my foot was better enough to walk on, and this morning…

I nodded slowly. "I think you're right," I said to Kakashi. "It all makes sense that way. All except for the reason I have these powers."

Kakashi thought about it. "It could be your chakra, healing you automatically," he suggested. I nodded slowly. "Sort of like a jutsu that happens whether I want it to or not, like Gaara," I said. Kakashi still looked confused at the name Gaara, so I continued before he could ask me any questions.

"The only problem with that is that I don't really believe that I have any chakra myself," I said.

Kakashi's eye widened. "But how could you survive without chakra?" he asked, sounding astonished. "There's no way."

I shook my head sadly. "But I'm not from the same world as you, remember?" I reminded him gently. "And I know you don't believe that, but it's what I know, so I'm keeping it open as a possibility." I stared at Kakashi steadily until he looked away. I sighed, knowing he still didn't believe me. Maybe he never would.

We walked in silence the rest of the way until we reached the building where the shinobi received their assignments.

The other three were already inside when we got there, looking more than a little pissed. I could see Sakura was ready to chew out Kakashi for making them wait again, but then she noticed me standing next to him, and the expression on her face changed entirely. My stomach flip-flopped at the sight of her happy face.

I groaned out loud, smacking my forehead. Kakashi looked at me questioningly, and I explained to him.

"Do you see the expression on Sakura's face?" I said, motioning towards her. Kakashi looked and shrugged. "What about it?" he asked. I smacked my forehead again. Men.

"Well, she was totally pissed when we first got in here," I said. "But when she saw us together, her face totally changed to the expression she's wearing now."

Kakashi shrugged again, still not getting it. "So what?" he asked.

"Oh, for the love of… forget it. Just forget it. Go get an assignment, you bonehead," I said, pushing Kakashi towards the counters. It disappointed me a little that, because he didn't understand what I was trying to say to him about Sakura thinking we liked each other, Kakashi obviously didn't think that way about me. I was more of a liability than an object of romance. That figures, I thought to myself with a dejected sigh. I would never get the man I was after.

Kakashi came back with an assignment scroll in hand and waited while his team gathered around him with expectant faces. I hung back, knowing it would be something completely normal and non-ninja-like.

"So, what did we get? Bodyguards? Steal a precious scroll? Save a village from enemy ninjas?" Naruto asked excitedly. Kakashi unrolled the scroll and read it out loud.

"For your first mission, the three of you-with help from Emily- will be… walking the Council of Elders' dogs," Kakashi said. Naruto's face fell, and I had to stifle a giggle. Grunt work, of course. They'd only just started out, so what did he expect?

Fantastic, hero-saving jobs, I supposed, as I followed the dejected Naruto out of the assignment building.

"Aw man, this stinks," Naruto muttered, kicking at the ground. I patted his shoulder sympathetically.

"Don't worry about it, Naruto-Chan," I said, adding the affix unconsciously. "If you work hard and do well, you'll be saving villages and fighting rouge ninjas in no time."

Naruto looked up at me hopefully. "You think so?" he asked. I nodded resolutely. "I know so," I answered. Naruto suddenly looked much happier, and he walked with a spring in his step that hadn't been there before.

I smiled as I watched him. If I ever had a little brother, I'd want him to be Naruto, I decided.

We picked up the dogs, and of course there were only three of them, so we let Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura pick their choice.

"He had to pick the big dog, didn't he?" I asked amusedly as Kakashi and I watched Naruto get dragged around by the only huge dog of the three. The other two were meek little lapdogs, but this one was a Bull Mastiff, I thought. Not particularly wild, but then again, he wasn't exactly responsive to Naruto's commands, either.

I laughed as Naruto got himself pulled into the shrubbery as the Mastiff decided he needed to pee. Kakashi shook his head, looking amused. "That kid sure is something," he murmured. I nodded.

"He'll be a better ninja than those two combined," I said, inclining my head in the direction of Sakura and Sasuke, who were also watching Naruto's antics while the lapdogs sniffed around their feet. Not only is he more powerful, he has a strong drive to improve, though he doesn't always show it. He has a good heart, something I think Mr. Uchiha over there strongly lacks," I said, meaning Sasuke.

Kakashi tilted his head, thinking. "I think you're right," he said at last. "But I think Sasuke has more heart than you know."

I looked at the Uchiha boy, one only two left in his clan. He looked very alone despite the close proximity of his comrades, particularly Sakura.

I smiled sadly, thinking of Sasuke's dark past. "It's too bad he doesn't know how to use it," I said.

Kakashi sent me a sideways glance, but didn't comment.

"So, where does your opinion stand on the lovely lady of the team?" he asked, nodding towards Sakura, who was still fawning over Sasuke.

I snorted. "Her infatuation with Sasuke disgusts me, frankly," I said. Kakashi raised an eyebrow, but I wasn't finished yet. "But she has hidden strengths that even she doesn't know about yet. For the time being, though, she's just another little sheep, prancing around for the affections of the wolf."

Kakashi shook his head as he looked at me. I held his gaze steadily, not backing down. Finally, Kakashi sighed and chuckled quietly.

"What's so funny?" I asked. Kakashi smiled behind his mask. "You can be so cryptic sometimes, like you know what all of our futures are already. Yet, at the same time, you seem to tell things the way you really see them," he said. I sighed. "I'll never know everything," I said in response, sitting down at the base of a tree. Kakashi joined me a moment later, and quietly we watched the genin. They didn't goof off or joke around like other kids did, and this was only in part because of their rivalries. I wondered suddenly how much they were missing out on, training to become ninja when they should really be having a normal childhood.

I was aware I sounded like my mother, thinking like this, but it was true. I did have the belief that children should have the chance to grow up normally, live a life surrounded by family and friends, the way it should be. Not trained and sharpened to become fighting weapons, whether it was their own decision or not.

I shook my head. It didn't matter, anyway. It was too late to change them now. They were set in their paths, and they all had a crucial part to play in the road ahead.

Kakashi spoke suddenly, his eyes still fixed on Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke. "So, what is your opinion of me, since you already seem to know our destinies?" he asked, now turning to look at me.

I looked down, pretending to think about it, when I was really only hiding the blush that had formed on my cheeks. Damn my traitorous body; would it ever work for me?  
"Kakashi, the Copy Ninja," I said finally. "That is the name most people seem to know you by. Yet, no one seems to actually know anything about you. Sure, I could probably give you a basic history of your life, but it doesn't tell me who you are as a person." I paused and looked up at Kakashi before continuing.

"Your mask hides your face, but it also hides who you really are. I truthfully doubt if you've ever let anyone in," I said honestly.

"In a way, you're like Sasuke; never seeming to get close to anyone, just giving people a legacy of good fighting. The difference between the two of you is that you have a completely different reason entirely for acting the way you do. I just don't know what it is yet."

I smiled slightly and looked back at the three genin. "So, there you have it. The opinion of-"

"The girl who never lies," Kakashi finished for me. I stared at him, confused, until he explained.

"In the whole time I've known you, you haven't lied or said something that wasn't what you believed to be the truth."

My eyes widened slightly, and a spark of hope ignited in my chest. "So, do you…do you believe me?" I asked, trying not to get too excited. Even if he did decide to believe me, we still didn't know where to start to get me back home.

Kakashi nodded and smiled behind his mask, and I threw my arms around him in a hug.

"Thank you," I whispered, before pulling back quickly, realizing what I was doing. Blushing, I looked down, but not before I noticed a little pink around the edges of Kakashi's mask, too.

As we were walking home together from that first day of training, I was gleefully holding a tiny amount of money and a tin of cat food in my hands, ecstatic at the fact that I had been able to buy it and still have money left over. Kakashi saw the expression on my face and laughed.

"I didn't realize you needed money so badly," he said to me. I nodded. "I'm totally broke," I admitted. "I need a job or something. And no, I'm not taking any free handouts," I added quickly. If I was going to live here, I was going to work and get paid like everyone else, not by taking someone else's hard-earned money.

Kakashi just shrugged and didn't say anything. We kept walking towards home, but I saw a thoughtful look begin to appear on his face.

"What?" I asked, curious. Kakashi looked at me. "What do you mean what?" he said, playing innocent. I frowned. "Come on, Kakashi, spill," I said, poking his arm. "You have an idea. I can see it in your eye." Having to say it like that made me giggle, but Kakashi only gave me a weird look before sighing.

"I don't know why you can read me so well," he muttered. "But you're right; I do have an idea, of sorts. An idea as to how to get you a job, in fact. Are you good with kids around, say, Naruto's age or younger?" he asked.

I blinked. "Um…if you mean, can I get them to listen to me without force, then yes, I can hold my own, I'd say," I answered, still puzzled as to where this was going.

Kakashi's eye glinted. "Have you ever done any… teaching, in your lifetime?" he asked.

My mouth dropped open. "Are you kidding me? You want me to teach little squirts about being a ninja? Where the hell did your brain go, dude? In case you haven't noticed, I have the ninja skills of a goldfish! There's no way I'd ever be able to teach little kids the shinobi way!"

Kakashi's mouth twitched behind his mask. "'The ninja skills of a goldfish'?" he asked, and I could tell he was trying hard not to laugh.

I stuck my tongue out at him. "Yes. Goldfish have no ninja skills whatsoever, so I figured it was a good example," I said.

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Right. Well, anyway, you won't be teaching those children the art of the shinobi. You could be filling in for a history teacher, or you could be teaching little kids the alphabet. Not all of children's lives in the village are about becoming a shinobi."

I closed my eyes and tried to imagine it: me, the outsider girl with the weird name, teaching children the skills required to be able to live their lives with the rest of us. Showing them a language that I didn't grow up speaking, and teaching them a history that didn't have anything to do with me, because this wasn't really my home.

Despite that, I could sort of see it, though the idea of teaching had never really crossed my mind before.

"I guess I could try that," I said uncertainly, "But only as a trial run, if I come home every day covered in finger-paint, then you can expect me to ditch the 'no force' claim," I said.

Kakashi laughed. "I'm sure you'll be fine. Besides, it would only be a part time job, as you'd be filling in for sick teachers, or ones taking a vacation," he said. "Plus, you'll have time for a little training on the side."

I looked at Kakashi, confused. "What kind of training?" I asked. Kakashi's eyes twinkled. "Ninja training," he answered.

My eyebrows shot up. "Any particular reason for this sudden plan of action?" I asked.

"I want to test your abilities, to see if your chakra can be controlled and used the way ours can," Kakashi said. "I know you doubt that you have any yourself, but I want to make sure first, before we jump to conclusions."

I nodded. Truthfully, I wanted to see if I had chakra, too. But if I did- and what's more, if I could control it- what did that mean? Were these two worlds connected somehow? Or would it mean that I wasn't from the world I thought I was?

Shuddering, I pushed these thoughts aside and concentrated on what Kakashi was saying.

"Even if it turns out that you don't have any chakra, or can't control it, I think I could teach you a few tricks in case you get into a tough situation and I'm not around to help you out." Kakashi grinned a little. "That kunai knife in your pocket is only useful when you know what to do with it."

I gasped a little, and instinctively my hand went to my pocket, where the knife was concealed. Ever since I had picked it up the day before, the knife had never left my side. I kept it around more as a talisman of luck than a defensive weapon.

Kakashi grinned at me from behind his mask, and suddenly I felt the urge to pull it down so I could finally see what his smile looked like, in the fading light of the day.

I kept myself in check, though, as I walked up the stairs to my front door.

"I'll take you up on your offer, Kakashi," I said. "And-" I paused for a moment before continuing, "Thank you. For everything. I mean, you could have shoved me off onto the Hokage or something, and never had to see me again. But instead, you helped me out, and without even expecting any payment in return. I-"

Suddenly Kakashi was standing in front of me, putting a finger to my lips. That, combined with his sudden appearance in front of me, worked well to shut me up.

"First off, one should never expect payment for things done out of kindness towards others," Kakashi said. "And second… meeting you could possibly be the greatest reward I could imagine."

Suddenly Kakashi was standing in front of his own front door, his hand raised in a farewell. "Good night, Emily," he called, before disappearing inside.

For once in my life, I had been struck speechless.


	5. Chapter 5

i've offically survived the first three days of school. :P not that i'm happy aobut it, though. school, though it teaches you things, the thigns it teaches you are things you will probably never use in your life again, unless you're playing Trival Pursuit or something. :P

anyway, my forced schedule of going to bed by 12:30 at the latest has kept me from updating at the crack of midnight today, so sorry about that. :( but, now here it is!! :D chapter five!! :D  
halfway to chapter ten!!! :D

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Surprisingly, I woke up the next morning to someone banging on my door. Yawning and rubbing the sleep from my eyes, and trying to ignore the sharp hunger pains that were stabbing me in the stomach forcefully with each step, I shuffled to the door and opened it, to find Kakashi standing there, looking amused at my disheveled appearance.

I blinked at him once or twice before it dawned on me that Kakashi might actually have a reason for being at my house right now.

I tried to speak, and my first effort came out as "Mmh mr mmh mmhh mhmh." Kakashi burst into laughter, and I sent him the best death glare I could while yawning and rubbing my eyes.

I tried again. "What the hell are you doing here?" I asked, yawning again. Morning wasn't exactly my favorite time of day, if you haven't noticed already.

"Children go to school early, remember?" Kakashi reminded me. I groaned, remembering. "How much time do I have?" I asked, worried about the answer.

"Ten minutes," Kakashi said.

"Jesus! You evil bastard," I cried in English before saying in Japanese, "Just stay here. I'll be ready in a few minutes."

Now more awake, I rushed into my bedroom and changed into clothes for the day. Sighing, I chose a dress over my preferred outfit of kapris and a t-shirt, deciding that looking professional would be a good move. Moving into the bathroom, I flinched at the circles under my eyes and splashed some water on my face to try and wake myself up some more. I combed my fingers through my hair and rushed back out to the front door, bending down quickly to kiss Snickers goodbye.

When I opened the door again and announced, "Ready!" Kakashi's eye widened. It trailed down my whole figure and back up again, to just below my neck.

I sighed, gave him ten seconds, and then slapped him across the face. It wasn't a hard or vicious slap, just enough to get his attention.

Kakashi looked back up at my face sheepishly, holding a hand to his cheek. "Sorry," he said, as we started walking.

I rolled my eyes. "Staring at them wasn't going to make them any bigger, so give it up," I replied. Kakashi muttered something that sounded like, "They look just fine to me," but I wasn't about to ask him what he'd said.

I'd been told many times what a wonderful figure I had, and I didn't take it for granted. I tried not to eat too many potato chips, drank more diet soda than regular, and I worked out at the gym once or twice a week. I liked me just fine, with the exception of my boobs. They were a B cup, and while that wasn't totally wimpy, I wished they were a tad bigger. Like a C cup, maybe. I'd be fine with that.

But of course, one doesn't always get what they desire in life, so I had B cup boobs, and I always worried that people thought they were too small. Besides, who wants any guy openly staring at your boobs? That's just gross. I mean, if they were being discreet about it, and I caught them, I'd think it would be kind of flattering, maybe. But I hated it when they just _looked. _So, I gave them ten seconds to save themselves before slapping them. No one ever saved themselves, I noticed.

The dress was kind of cute on me, I guess. It was black, with a slit up both sides like Sakura's. Unlike Sakura's, however, this was lacking the zipper and the collar. Instead, the dress had a v-neck that didn't show too much skin, and had a green line on the hems. The outline of a lotus flower had been stitched on the bottom edge of the dress, in the same shade of green as the edging. Of course, I'd put on a pair of shorts, similar to the ones Sakura wore, underneath the dress because of the slits, but I didn't think it took away from the subtle sexiness of the whole ensemble.

All in all it was one of two very cute dresses I'd gotten as a part of Sakura's deal. I had assumed, though, that I didn't really need either of them, and they had been sitting at the bottom of the pile of clothes that I had yet to hang in a closet. Thank God for girly tastes.

"So, when do I get to start training to become a super-cool kick-ass ninja?" I asked Kakashi as we walked. He raised an eyebrow at me, and I shrugged. "What? I'm not allowed to think ninjas are super-cool?" I said, pouting. Kakashi just sighed.

"You can be so like Naruto sometimes," he muttered. I stuck my tongue out at him in response and waited for him to continue.

"We'll start at the beginning of next week, which is three days from now. Hopefully you'll begin to build up your strength for then," Kakashi said, glancing at my body. But this time it was an examining glance, not an ogling one.

"You may have a very nice figure, but your muscle tone is zero," Kakashi said as we reached the schoolhouse. I blinked at him, surprised, but Kakashi only grinned and waved goodbye before disappearing to send Team 7 on another random D-ranked mission.

Rolling my eyes and muttering about the uselessness of men, I entered the building and approached what I assumed to be the secretary's desk.

A woman in her mid-forties with graying hair turned from the computer as I approached.

"Um, hello. I was hoping you might have a job of some sorts available for me here?" I asked, suddenly feeling very stupid. You couldn't just walk into a school and ask for a job like it was a grocery store or something. You needed certain skills, permits, collage degrees. They didn't just let you teach whenever you wanted.

"Oh, good! Thank you very much for trying to help us out. We've always been a little short-staffed around here," the woman said, getting up from her chair and walking around the desk. "Please follow me. I'll show you to the playground."

Wow. That was easy.

The short woman chatted amiably as we walked down the hall to a door at the far end. She introduced herself as Kantiko, the dual principal and secretary of the small village school.

"We've needed a few people to come in and watch over the children for us, so the teachers can get back to their duties," Kantiko explained as she pushed open the doors to the small playground. "Two is normally all we need, so you'll be watching them with our other helper, Miss Mikki."

I raised my eyebrows slightly at the uncommon name. It sounded more like an American name than a Japanese one. Weird.

Mikki was a girl about my age, with short, dark, hair, with a red ribbon that she used as a headband. Surprisingly, when she stood up to greet us, I realized she was wearing pants and a t-shirt. Damn. It was either casual day or you were allowed to dress like that all the time. I wished I'd known that earlier.

Kantiko gave a couple of rapid-fire introductions before bustling away, saying something about work to do at her desk. I watched her go with both eyebrows raised.

I heard a giggle, and turned to find Mikki clapping a hand over her mouth. I raised an eyebrow at her this time, and she shrugged and grinned.

"Sorry. You looked funny, just staring at Kantiko like that," she said. I shrugged. "She's a very odd, very talkative woman," I answered.

Mikki smiled and held out a hand. "Mikki," she said. I shook. "Emily," I answered.

Mikki cocked her head, considering the name. "I've never heard a name like that before," she said. I nodded. "Yeah, I'm not from here," I answered, and left it at that. Thankfully, Mikki didn't push for an answer, but sat down on a stone bench and patted the seat next to her.

I sat and turned so I was facing her. "So, is it casual day, or did I miss the memo that said you could wear whatever you wanted?" I asked. Mikki grinned. "I think you missed the memo," she answered.

I sighed in relief. "Great. So when I come to school tomorrow, I can wear kapris and t-shirts?" I asked. Mikki rolled her eyes. "If you had gotten the memo, you would have known this already. You memo-misser," she accused. I pretended to be offended, putting a hand to my chest. "Memo-misser? Me? Never. I've never missed a memo in my whole life," I said. Suddenly my eyes widened in fake shock. "I get it now! You must have sabotaged my memo before it got to me! Killed it in the middle of the night, eh? Just killed it, wham!" I sniffed back an imaginary tear. "Poor thing. So young, so full of life!" I pointed an accusing finger at Mikki, who was trying to look as innocent as possible. "Memo-murderer!" I exclaimed.

Mikki gasped. "You probably framed me!" she shot back. "You probably killed your own memo, to make it seem like it was me! You framer!"

"Why would I want to frame you? I don't even know you!" I retorted, folding my arms triumphantly.

Mikki snorted. "So why would I want to kill your memo, then? I don't know you, either!" she exclaimed, smirking.

I glared at her, and she glared back. We sat in silence for a few minutes before I spoke.

"Maybe it ran away," I said. Mikki looked thoughtful. "Maybe it eloped," she said.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "With who? Memos don't elope!" I scoffed.

"How do you know? You aren't a memo," Mikki said. I thought about that for a second. "Okay, I guess I'm not," I admitted.

We were quiet for a minute. "My aunt had a memo once," Mikki said suddenly. "It eloped with another memo. My aunt tells me they're very happy together, and they live in a nice cubbyhole in the library."

I nodded. "Okay, so maybe it eloped with another memo, then," I said. Mikki shook her head. "I haven't missed any memos lately, so I don't think that's it," she said.

I tapped my chin in thought. "Wait! I know!" I exclaimed suddenly. "What?" Mikki asked curiously.

"When I first walked in today, I noticed a whole bunch of little scraps of paper of notes written on them on Kantiko's desk," I said. Mikki's eyes widened. "And you think that your memo eloped with one of those!" she cried, catching on. I nodded eagerly. "Yeah. I mean, there's so many of those things, if one ran away and eloped with my missing memo, then no one would notice. It's the perfect cover!" I cried.

Mikki nodded excitedly. "That's got to be it." Then, "You know, I hear those little scrappies are skanks."

"Really?"

"Yeah, they're real whores."

"What a shame. Oh well, I wish them the best, I suppose."

"Yeah, I guess so."

I grinned suddenly at Mikki, and she returned it.

"You aren't a teacher, are you?"

"Nope. Not once in my life."

I laughed and put an arm around Mikki's shoulders. "Mikki, I believe this is the start of a beautiful friendship," I said. She grinned. "I would think so."

Mikki and I spent the rest of the kids' recess time talking and laughing about everything. We were having such a good time that I hardly noticed when someone walked up to the fence surrounding the playground, long after the kids had left to go back inside.

"Emily?" I paused, recognizing the voice. Turning, I saw Kakashi standing in front of the fence, hands shoved into his pockets.

"Oh, hey, Kakashi!" I said, waving. "Look, I made a friend today!" I said excitedly, pointing at Mikki, who was still sitting down, looking at Kakashi with a slightly dreamy expression.

Kakashi laughed, and I pulled Mikki up by her arm. "Mikki, snap out of it!" I whispered, shaking her slightly.

Mikki blinked and looked at me. "I think I just saw an angel," she said in a hushed tone. I felt a pang of jealousy, but ignored it and rolled my eyes. "No, you just saw Kakashi. He's a super-cool kick-ass ninja, and he's a friend of mine. Come meet him," I said, tugging on Mikki's arm.

Mikki managed to snap herself out of her stupor as we were walking, but she whispered to me, "Wow, he's really hot. You got lucky with this one, Emily-chan."

"We're not together," I responded automatically, though I felt a part of me that wished it was otherwise. Okay, all of me wished it was otherwise, but I knew it shouldn't happen. Who knew when I'd get back home? It could be tomorrow, for all I knew.

Mikki rolled her eyes. "Not yet, anyway," she said. I snorted. "Yes, right. I totally have a chance to score with the super-skilled Kakashi Hatake, the Copy Ninja, the ninja who's copied over a thousand jutsu," I said sarcastically. Mikki's eyes widened. "He's _that_ ninja?" she asked, awed. I nodded, and she mouthed the word _Wow_.

Kakashi tilted his head as we reached the gate that let us out into the rest of the world. "I heard my name," he said. "Were you talking about me?"

I nodded as I stepped out of the playground, holding the gate open for Mikki, who shot me an alarmed look as she passed.

"Well, of course I am," I said. "You are the Copy Ninja, after all. How could I not talk up your awesomeness?"

Kakashi merely sighed and turned to Mikki as he held out his hand. "Well, I guess you already know who I am, thanks to the girl with the mouth that never closes," he said, shooting a glance at me as I tried to appear offended by the comment, "but it appears to be that I do not know your name."

I saw Mikki blush as she shook his hand and mumbled her name, and again felt that same stab of jealousy, which again I ignored. I shouldn't be feeling jealous, because the guy was still fair game, I told myself. It's not like he's just declared his eternal love to her or anything. Plus, he said that he doesn't date. End of story.

Suddenly, I swayed on my feet a bit. Kakashi was suddenly at my side, holding me steady.

"Are you alright?" he asked me. I was about to nod, but then my stomach forcefully reminded me it was empty, and I shook my head instead.

"I haven't eaten anything since yesterday," I confessed. "And yesterday wasn't exactly filling, either." Kakashi relaxed slightly, but he still looked worried. "You need to eat more," he told me, letting me go, but first making sure that I could walk on my own.

"I would, but I have no money," I groaned, holding my stomach. Kakashi rolled his eyes and started walking away. "Come on," he said over his shoulder. "Let's get you some ramen. You can't build your strength like this. You'll faint before we even start."

Happily I followed behind Kakashi, dragging Mikki with me. She finally shook my hand off her arm and walked beside me. "That guy is all over you, Emily-Chan," she said, grinning. I rolled my eyes and shook my head. "He's just protective because in the few days he's known me, I've gotten myself stabbed in the foot with a piece of glass, and now I'm practically falling over from starvation," I said.

Mikki raised her eyebrows. "Someone stabbed you in the foot with a piece of glass?" she asked incredulously. I grinned at her sheepishly. "Okay, fine, so maybe I stepped on it, but that's not the point!" I protested as Mikki snorted and started giggling.

"Yeah, whatever," Mikki said, once she was able to control her laughter. "He still really likes you. I can tell."

I folded my arms. "Oh really? Enlighten me," I said.

Mikki pulled me closer and spoke in a low voice. "Okay, so this is hard-earned, completely right, totally excellent Mikki-wisdom, okay? So don't doubt it. I have a lot of experience in these matters," she said, looking solemn and bowing. I giggled and waved for her to get on with it, but just then we arrived at the ramen shop.

Immediately I turned to the smell of food and forgot everything else. "Wow that smells so good…" I breathed, taking a deep sniff of the noodle-incensed air.

Mikki shot me a look as we sat down at the stools. "I'll tell you about it later, okay?" she whispered in my ear. I nodded distractedly, trying to pick my favorite flavor of ramen.

Mikki looked at me and laughed. "You must really be starving, huh?" she said. "Thank you, miss points-out-the-obvious-a-lot. I'm ravenous, actually," I said.

Mikki held up her hands in fake surrender. "Someone seems a little snippy," she said.

"Well, yeah, it's because I'm so hungry I can't even see straight!" I snapped at her.

Suddenly a felt a hand at the small of my back. "Easy, girl," Kakashi said from behind me. "Don't scare away your new friend on the first day you meet her."

I took a deep breath and tried to compose myself. Turning to Mikki, I began to apologize, but then someone set a steaming bowl of ramen down in front of me, and all words were lost as I attacked the bowl with a voracious energy that I didn't know I had. Hunger makes you desperate, I suppose.

Three bowls later, I was totally stuffed and completely satisfied. Pulling my meager change out of my pocket, I realized it wasn't nearly enough to cover the whole expense.

"Damn. Do you think if I throw it all back up they won't make me pay for it?" I asked hopefully. Kakashi chuckled as he handed the shop owner the money for the bill. I tried to protest, but now sleep was the next thing on my mind, and instead of words, when I opened my mouth a huge yawn came out.

Mikki laughed as she stood up and said goodbye. "I'll see you tomorrow, Emily-chan! And bring your boyfriend, too!" she called, giggling at the blush that arose to my cheeks.

"If I could run, I'd kill you, Mikki-chan," I grumbled, but waved goodbye to her anyway.

As Kakashi and I walked home, I tried to apologize once again for not being able to pay the bill, but Kakashi just sighed and said, "Shut up, Emily. You're broke; it's not your fault."

"That's not much of an excuse, in my opinion," I grumbled. "I wouldn't be letting me off so easily."

Kakashi chuckled and waved as we walked to our separate houses. "Goodnight, Emily," he said, and walked inside before I could answer. Rolling my eyes, I walked inside and greeted Snickers, a small smile touching my lips as I did so.

"Goodnight, Kakashi," I whispered.


	6. Chapter 6

hey!! so, i got lucky and got this chapter out at the crack of midnight, like i prefer to do. :D it's Labor Day weekend, you see. :D

well, anyway, i'm so happy that people like this story. reviews make me feel better about my abilites, and there are a few people whom i've noticed have been rather loyal to the series, and so i want to thank them now:

**XxBlackTypewriterxX**, you rock awesomely. you actually reviewed more than once, and said totally awesome things, and that made me exceptionally happy. :D

**Michi-tan** for telling me that my Kakashi story was the best ever. :D

and **theduckoverthere** for loving me. XD i love you name, btw. it's epic, which is a word my friends want to ban. O.o so that makes it extra special to call you that. :D

and thank you everyone else who reviewed or showed their support in some way. i tried to answer everyone who reviewed me, but i'm a bit scatterbrained, so if i missed you, i'm sosososo sorry. :( if you review again, i WILL get you the next time!! XD

uh, yeah... sorry. now, you can stop reading this boring crap and get on with the good stuff. :D

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The next few days passed rather slowly for me, as I found myself strangely excited for my training to begin. I bought myself an alarm clock with the small amount of money I had, and ran for a mile or two every day before I went to school to watch the squirts with Mikki. It was a relatively simple job, and because the kids were mostly well-behaved, or worked things out on their own, we had plenty of time to blabber on to each other about totally random things- like our shared love of cheese- or not so random things- like Kakashi.

The third day I was with her, Mikki told me that she wouldn't make any advances on Kakashi, because, as she put it, "that guy is all over you, Emily-chan."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm telling you, Mik," I told her, using the nickname I'd given her the second day we were watching the kids, "You're delusional. We've known each other for a total of what, four days? Five? Plus, he doesn't date. He's told me that."

Mikki snorted and tossed her hair. "All the cool guys say that, to make themselves sound stronger and more mysterious," she said.

I looked at her incredulously. "Mikki, the guy wears a mask, and he's a shinobi! How much stronger and more mysterious can you get?" I said. Mikki shrugged. "Once they fall for you, everything changes," she answered.

I just shrugged and turned back to watch the kids playing together. I could still feel the part of me that yearned to be with Kakashi, to just give in and try to be with him, whether it was for a few days or a few years. I would have done it in a heartbeat, but I feared the heartbreak of leaving.

As the end of the school day approached, I began to feel more and more excited, the butterflies building in a crescendo as the last few minutes passed and the final bell rang.

Sitting still became impossible after a few minutes of waiting, so I jumped up and started pacing impatiently. Mikki, watching me, stood up and caught my sleeve, bringing me to a stop.

"Emily-chan," she said, laughing, "He'll be here on his own time. Just be patient. I have a feeling he won't be late for you."

I sighed and ignored the last comment. "I'm just so tired of waiting, Mik," I said. Mikki nodded in sympathy, but she was looking at something behind me. Suddenly, her eyes widened, and she whispered, "I don't think you have to wait anymore."

I whirled around to find Kakashi strolling towards me calmly, hands in his pockets as usual. "How did you get in here?" I demanded. "The gate squeaks when you open it."

Kakashi looked behind him at the fence surrounding the playground. "Well, the fence wasn't that tall…" he said, shrugging.

I gaped at him in astonishment. Turning to Mikki, I opened my mouth, but she was already nodding. "Yep, I saw him do it," she said, shaking her head in amazement. "Just jumped the thing like it was half his size. It was insane."

Okay, I know Kakashi's a shinobi and all, but this fence wasn't exactly short. It was roughly two of me, and I was probably five-foot-six. So, not an easy feat.

Shaking my head, I turned back to Kakashi and grinned at him. "You show-off," I said, giving him a shot to the arm as I passed him. "Come on. I've been jumping off the walls, waiting for you."

Kakashi chuckled and followed after me, waiting for a moment while I waved a frantic goodbye to Mikki, who looked ecstatic to see me heading off to be alone with Kakashi for a few hours. I rolled my eyes and stuck my tongue out at her, but she just grinned in response. Kakashi looked at me curiously, but I just smiled and shook my head. Luckily, he didn't broach the subject.

"So, how are we going to do this discovery-of-my-chakra thing?" I asked Kakashi as we walked.

"Well, obviously we aren't going to jump right into teaching you how to control your chakra without teaching you a bit about fighting first. Jutsus are all fine and nice, but if you can't block a few kicks and punches, you'll be down for the count before you even know what hit you," Kakashi said. I nodded for him to continue.

"Then, once you can hold your own in combat, we'll begin to test the levels of your chakra, to see what you can and can't do. If it turns out that we can't control your chakra, or that you don't have any at all, we'll continue with the combat training, to make you the best fighter we possibly can without using justsu," Kakashi finished. I nodded. "Alright then," I said. "I think I can handle that."

Kakashi glanced at me, and there was a strange gleam in his eye when he spoke. "You'd better hope you can, Emily, because I won't let up on you."

I could feel a challenge in his words, and I turned my head so I could meet Kakashi's gaze. "I'm sorry, was I not clear enough for you?" I asked. "Well, fine, how about this: I can handle anything you throw at me, no matter what it is, no matter how tough, how difficult. I'll meet and rise above your challenge, Kakashi. You just wait and see."

The tone of my voice never changed, but my conviction was clear. I could prove a point just as well as Naruto, without the loudness.

Kakashi held my gaze for a moment longer before looking away. I knew he had gotten the point, but I also knew that he would do his best to beat into me the skills of a ninja. Fine. I'd show him.

I suddenly realized that we had reached a clearing in the woods we had been walking through for the past few minutes. Obviously the clearing had been well-used, because there was a large patch of dirt in the middle of the clearing, probably where sparring took place, and on the opposite side from Kakashi and I there were targets shaped like human torsos, riddled with puncture holes.

"Welcome to my personal training grounds," Kakashi said, making a sweeping motion with his hand. "And now, yours as well."

I walked slowly to the center of the clearing, right in the middle of the dirt patch. Turning, I faced Kakashi and sent him a wicked grin. "So, you're going to teach me to be a ninja, eh? Well, bring it on."

"Don't leave yourself open like that! An enemy could easily take you down with one shot to your side," Kakashi cautioned as he threw a punch at the exact area he was speaking of. I managed to block it, but only barely, and I wasn't prepared for the kick to my other side that sent me to my knees.

We had been in the clearing for a few hours now, and while I was sweaty and achy from my various failures to block Kakashi's attacks, _he _seemed to not even have broken a sweat. Jeez. Now _that _was good for my self-esteem.

Kakashi had started me off my showing me some basic punches and kicks, and then having me practice them on a dummy until my arms and legs throbbed. Then, at my insistence, we did a bit of sparring to see how well I could fight. This led to my current state, which was tired, battered, and pissed that Kakashi kept beating me. That was what bugged me the most. He wasn't gloating or anything, I just felt that I had the drive to do better. I just couldn't seem to get it. But I'd get it, or kill myself trying. I knew that.

"Come on, get up! If you leave yourself on the ground like that, an enemy could slit your throat in a moment!" Kakashi barked. I gritted my teeth, and slowly rose to my feet. I kept myself blocked as I threw a kick at Kakashi, but he dodged it easily and retaliated with a flurry of punches that knocked me back on my knees.

Growling, I punched the ground in frustration. "Why the hell can't I get this?" I snarled.

I looked up quickly as Kakashi approached, but this time he wasn't about to lecture me on my lack of defense, or send a few kicks my way, to prove his point.

"You can't really expect to beat me on your first day of training, can you?" Kakashi said, looking down at me. "Being a ninja is a hard and difficult life, full of struggles that push you to the limit. Are you there yet?" he asked me, his voice still the sharp edge it had been a moment ago. It didn't feel like he was asking me to quit. It felt like he was taunting me.

My rage, which had been growing in me for some time, boiled over, but it was gone as soon as it had been there, replaced by a cold, calculating anger. I suddenly felt as though I could sense Kakashi's movements, feel where he would least expect an attack, and then utilize the best angle for taking him down. Suddenly I didn't feel so weak. I felt… like a predator.

Before I hardly knew what was happening, I had leaped up from my position on the ground and kicked Kakashi's legs out from under him. As he toppled forward, an expression of surprise on his face, I leaped behind him and pinned his arms behind his back, all before he had even hit the ground. To me, Kakashi was moving in slow motion, and I was fast, faster than anyone, faster than I had ever been before.

I leaned forward and hissed in Kakashi's ear.

"I'll never back down from you. Remember that."

The cold rage disappeared suddenly, and I was left feeling very dizzy and confused. I released Kakashi's hands and stood up, backing away from him until my exhausted body could take it no more, and I collapsed on the ground.

My hands were trembling violently, and I was suddenly terrified to move. What if that same feeling came back again? I had felt so in control, so sure of myself, but I had known every precise spot on Kakashi's body that I could use to kill him, and that knowledge frightened me. What if I got angry again and did something even worse than what I'd just done to Kakashi? What if I killed someone?

My whole body was trembling now, and I hardly noticed when Kakashi kneeled down in front of me, the worry radiating off of him in waves. He shook me gently. "Emily? Emily, I need you to say something. What happened just now? How were you able to do that?" I just stared at him and croaked, "Please take me home."

Kakashi nodded and helped me up. I tried to stand on my own, but my knees buckled the moment I put too much weight on them. Kakashi caught me before I fell, and once again I found myself in his arms as he picked me up, bridal-style, and quickly carried me back to his house.

I didn't complain about Kakashi bringing me here as he put me down on his couch. I was doing my best to not break down into tears, because I had scared myself that much.

I breathed deeply, trying to calm myself. "Emily? Are you alright?" Kakashi asked me, sitting in front of me on his coffee table. Wow, talk about déjà vu.

My hands were still trembling, though not as violently as before. I could feel the weakness in my legs, however, and knew that if I tried to stand up, I would fall before I had taken a single step.

I clenched my hands into fists. "No, I'm not alright in the slightest," I said through gritted teeth. "I just knew every single point on your body that could kill you if I hit it, Kakashi. I took you down in less than a second, and now… now I can hear your heartbeat." I said the last part in a sort of wonder, because I had just realized what the beating sound in my ears was. It wasn't particularly loud or demanding, but Kakashi's heart rate did increase when I said those words.

"Start from when you first felt all this," Kakashi said, his voice calm. But it was the only thing clam about him. His heartbeat had picked up, and all of his muscles were tense.

I couldn't blame him, though. It was freaking me out, too. Everything suddenly seemed a little more distinct, a little clearer, to my ears. And I realized that, when I breathed in through my nose, I could smell everything. And I did mean _everything._ Perspiration was the main smell, and though most of it was from me, I did, in fact, detect a little from Kakashi, as well. We also carried some lingering traces of the woods on our bodies, of leaves and dirt and the outdoors. And, underneath all of this, I could just barely detect a different scent, unlike anything else I'd ever smelled before. Some part of me identified it as Kakashi's scent, unique to him only, but I didn't know how I knew that.

I blew air out through my mouth and decided to get on with my story. The sooner I told Kakashi what I was feeling, the sooner we could figure out what to do about it, if there was anything we _could_ do.

Kakashi listened quietly as I described in detail the strange feelings that had come over me, the knowledge that I had suddenly gained, and the effects that I was still feeling now. As I finished, I looked at him worriedly, hoping against hope that he would be able to come up with some reasonable explanation as to what was happening to me, and why.

"So, this has never happened to you before? Not in your world, or while you were with Mikki?" Kakashi asked finally, looking at me. I shook my head, feeling miserable. "No, never. I think it was caused by my frustration and anger. It just reached a certain point, where I was just done with it all. I think it was the last thing you said that did it," I confessed, feeling a little guilty about it. I knew that Kakashi hadn't been trying to insult me, but to my surprise, Kakashi looked a little embarrassed himself.

"I guess I was asking for it with that," he said, looking sheepish. "If it makes you feel any better, you probably gave me bruises on my wrists that will last for a week."

I gave Kakashi a watery smile. "Maybe that helps out, just a bit," I said dryly, my sense of humor returning as strength began to flow back into my limbs, little by little.

Kakashi returned the smile, and, to my surprise, I could hear his heart rate jump a little as he looked at me. Well, well, well. Maybe Mikki was on to something, after all.

I grinned, suddenly heartened by this small sign. And then, in the same moment, I decided to tease Kakashi with my new superpowers.

"Well, I don't know where these powers came from, but they helped me discover that every time you look at me, your heart rate jumps a bit," I said, smirking. Kakashi's heart jumped again, but all he did as a response was to cock an eyebrow at me.

I grinned. "So, the question now is, does your heart snap to attention like this because you have a newfound fear of me?" I pretended to think about it, tapping my finger against my lips as I stared at the ceiling. Finally, I snorted. "Yeah, right. Like that's it. I'm about as harmful as a kitten." I grinned at Kakashi as I said this, and I could see he returned the smile. But his heart was still running a bit faster than it should have been.

"So, it's not fear. Well, maybe it could be… an infatuation, of sorts?" I pretended to ponder that, too, frowning in concentration as a stared at the ceiling, while watching Kakashi out of the corner of my eye and listening in secret delight as his heart pumped up suddenly. I felt like a cat that had cornered its mouse, and now I was going in for the kill.

"I think that might be it," I said slowly, turning to look at Kakashi. "I think you like me."

"What? No, what are you talking about?" Kakashi stammered. I could see the heat that had rushed to his cheeks, and secretly delighted in the fact that our feelings were the same. It was bittersweet for me, though, because I knew that I didn't want to allow myself the chance to be with Kakashi, in case I had to leave him. It would hurt too much.

"You know what I'm talking about, my scarecrow friend," I said, using the English word for Kakashi's name. "You've got a crush. And, surprisingly enough, it's on the girl who appeared in his bedroom a few days ago. How odd," I mused.

Kakashi looked rather frantic now. "No, no, it's not like that!" he exclaimed. "I mean, not that you aren't an amazing girl or anything, but it's-it's a physical attraction, is what it is!" he cried.

I wasn't sure why a physical attraction was so much better than a mental one, but I went with it. "So, you think I'm pretty?" I asked, wanting to hear him say it.

Kakashi looked defeated as he nodded, once. "Yes. You're gorgeous, to tell you the truth. Now, are we done with the interrogation process?" Kakashi asked, rather sharply.

I blinked. Perhaps I had gone too far.

Standing up, I stretched luxuriously. Then, on a spur of the moment, I leaned down and quickly kissed Kakashi on the cheek.

"You know, don't think I'm not extremely attracted to you as well," I whispered, my lips close to his ear. "You have the most gorgeous body of anyone I've ever seen, and I've only seen half of it."

Kakashi's heartbeat jumped again, and this time, being so close to him, I could smell the lust on him.

Hmm. I've turned him on. Good to know.

I stepped away from Kakashi and sent him a smirk. "Well, this was fun. Thank you for helping me once again in my time of need, like I'm some stupid damsel in distress all the time. I assume we'll be doing this again tomorrow, hopefully without the creepy I-almost-killed-you thing. It's worn me out a lot, so I figure I need to sleep and let my other freaky superpowers do their work. Maybe if I get lucky, all of my limbs won't feel like someone repeatedly smashed them with bricks tomorrow." This finally got a smile from Kakashi, who had been sitting on his coffee table, staring blankly at the spot where I had been sitting.

"You asked for it," he said quietly. I grinned at him. "I know. I'll try not to be so demanding tomorrow, in case you decide to make me fight hand-to-hand while you throw kunai at me," I said, though we both knew that tomorrow would be just as demanding as today had been. But I would be ready for it. I could feel it in my bones, and rushing through my blood. Though I'd lost, the fighting had awakened in me a new power I'd never seen before. And though it could be potentially dangerous, some part of me yearned to feel that control again, to experience that power and know that nothing could stop me. Nothing at all.

I wished Kakashi goodnight and walked to my house, where a pitiful-sounding Snickers reminded me that she needed her food bowl filled. I petted her absentmindedly as I scraped the last of the cat food out of the can and into a plastic bowl I'd gotten at the store. I guess I'd have to go food shopping again.

But my mind was hardly on my mental shopping list. It was still on the way that I'd been so easily able to take down Kakashi today. Of course, it had probably also been due to the fact that he'd been totally unprepared for the onslaught, but a corner of my mind still reminded me that it had been my own strength and skill that had caught him unawares like that.

"But it wasn't me," I said aloud. "I don't know where that came from."

Snickers looked up at me and meowed, as if asking a question. I sighed and picked her up, walking outside to where the small fenced-in patch of grass that counted as a backyard waited for me, looking sad and forlorn. I sat down on the ground and leaned against the wall of the house, looking up at the starry night sky.

"Well, Snick, since you asked, I guess it's best that I tell you," I said to Snickers, scratching her chin. She purred and settled down in my lap, as if preparing herself to hear the story.

I told her everything, starting from the beginning of the day and ending with my leaving Kakashi's house and returning home. Snickers kept her eyes, the color of the deep ocean, on me the whole time, as if she were absorbing every word. When I finally finished, she stood up and stretched, and when she meowed I swore I could understand her perfectly.

_It seems as though you are finally coming into your own._

I blinked and shook my head, staring at Snickers. Her only response was to yawn hugely and jump of my lap, strolling leisurely to the back door, where she sat down and looked at me.

Rolling my eyes at my own stupidity-cats didn't talk! - I stood up and opened the door, letting Snickers and myself back inside.

As the cat curled up on my bed, preparing to sleep, I walked into the bathroom to take a shower.

I looked at myself in the mirror before stepping into the stream of hot water. And as I did so, I saw something that made me stop.

When I was five, we had still been traveling around the country with my parents. One day, my father had taken my sister and I aside and given us a mirror.

"Use it to look at the tops of your heads," he had told us. After much fussing and finding the right angle to look at, we finally saw them. Two identical sets of crescent-shaped birthmarks, right on the tops of our heads. Oddly enough, they were the same color as our hair, which was a pale gold. This had been why we had never noticed them before.

"You see those? When you two were born, right in those very spots had been two little ears," my father had told us. We were fascinated. "Like people ears?" my sister had asked, patting the top of her head. My dad had laughed and shaken his head.

"No, no, of course not," he said, motioning us closer. We leaned forward, eager to hear the rest of the tale.

"They were cat ears," my father had whispered to us. My sister and I let out gasps at the same time, and my dad laughed again. "You had tails, too, right where those circle birthmarks are on your little bottoms," he said, giving us both a light slap on said area for emphasis. We had jumped and giggled while my dad tickled us. When our squeals had finally ceased, I asked the question that had been on my mind.

"What happened to them?" I asked, touching my head unconsciously. My dad's face grew thoughtful, and he told us, "No one knows. They were gone only a few hours after you two had been born, and so were the tails." Apparently this had made my sister and I look sad, because my father's thoughtful look disappeared, replaced by something more secretive. "You mustn't tell you mother about any of this, okay? This is just our secret, to share," he'd warned us, drawing us closer.

"What, what?" we whispered in excitement, wanting to hear the secret.

"I think that, when the time is right, those little ears and tails will come right back, just when you need them the most," my father had whispered. Our eyes widened, and my sister and I looked at each other in astonishment.

My father had grinned then and pushed us gently away, telling us to keep the secret. We had promised, and then ran away to play cats together.

I had forgotten the whole incident until now. Because, right now, it looked like my ears were returning.


	7. Chapter 7

sorry about the late update!!! my internet was down until, like, twenty minutes ago, and so i couldn't post. :( but now it's here!! the story i am so dilligently ignoring in my quest to finish everything else!! *guilty face* i'm still ahead of myself, don't worry! i finished chapter 11 last night. :D  
anyway, enough rambling. go on and read the awesome story!! :D

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The next morning found me already at the training grounds, practicing my punches and kicks on the dummy I'd used yesterday. They were made ever more ferocious by the nervousness churning in my stomach. What if that cold, ferocious personality returned again? What if I actually hurt somebody this time? What if Kakashi didn't believe my wild theory that I'd come up with lat night, seeing the nubs on my head, right in the middle of my birthmarks?

I'd stood still for a full minute, staring at the strange bumps that were popping right out of my head, dead center on my birthmarks. Of course, they weren't noticeable yet, and truthfully, I'd had to double check to make sure. But it was still a strange occurrence, especially when I'd found a similar bump on my tailbone, right where my other birthmark was. It freaked me out just a little bit, especially because of all the weird things that had been happening already.

The worst thing about it, though, was that my dad had been the one to tell me. My slightly harebrained, easygoing, loveable father, who was a totally normal human being in every way, had first warned me of my ears and tail when I was very young. Of course, until last night I had believed it to be a completely false story, one told to amuse us as small children, as fathers are bound to do occasionally. But now, I wasn't sure what to think. Did my mother have anything to do with this? She had always been a different person from my father, more stubborn and down-to-earth, the complete opposite of him. Somehow, though, they had found love together. They hardly ever fought, and if they did, they were always able to forgive and forget.

I knew every detail of my father's past, him being an avid storyteller. Late at night, we would sit outside our old RV and listen to him tell stories under the light of the stars. When my father spoke, it was impossible not to listen. To say he was gifted with words would be an enormous understatement. My father could make a deaf man stop in his tracks and hear what he had to say.

Because of this, I knew everything about my father, but next to nothing about my mother. I knew that her parents had died when she was young, and that she had been raised by her aunt, who had been widowed when her husband died of a terminal illness. I knew that she had met her father at a hotel in Phoenix, Arizona, and I knew that they were both wanderers to the end. Gypsies, we called ourselves. Hippies, everyone else called us.

As hard as I tried to remember, there wasn't much more to my knowledge of my mother's past. I didn't even know her maiden name. Every time we had tried to ask her a question, she had skillfully found a way to change the subject, without fail. I think she once even ripped my prom dress on 'accident' when I asked her a question about her mom. At the time, of course it had seemed purely bad luck. But now, because I was second-guessing everything, it seemed strange. Who was my mother? And why did she hide so much about herself?

I pondered this as I continued hitting the dummy, warming up for today's session. Fifty punches for each hand, then fifty kicks for each leg. I had repeated the cycle a few times when I heard someone approaching from behind me.

Pausing, I whirled around, expecting someone to be close behind me, but instead, Kakashi was at least ten feet away, looking surprised at my sudden reaction.

I sighed and pointed to my ears. "Guess my hearing's better than I remember," I said, shrugging. Kakashi nodded and continued his unhurried advance towards me. "So, are you planning on killing me today?" he asked, his voice ringing with humor. I grunted and looked away. "Hopefully not," I answered. "Besides, the only way I could kill you was if you were unconscious and tied to a tree. Despite my super-special random powers, I doubt I'd be able to take you on." I smiled slightly. "Of course, seeing as I don't know any jutsu yet, using your sharingan eye against me would be rather futile, don't you think?"

Kakashi tiled his head and looked at me. "Is there something wrong? You seem to be troubled by something."

I blinked in surprise. Was it that obvious?

"I'll tell you after the training," I said, getting into an offensive position. "Ready to defend yourself?"

Kakashi's mouth stretched into a smirk, and I realized that with my enhanced senses, his expressions were even easier to read than before.

"Only if you think you can handle it," he responded, readying himself as well.

Without another word we launched ourselves into the attack.

At noon we finally called it a day and began to walk back to the village. Kakashi had given his team a few days off, so we could focus on my training more exclusively, which made me feel a little guilty that Kakashi was setting aside his own team for me, a girl he barely knew.

Instead of going to the ramen shop like we normally would, Kakashi and I decided to change it up a bit and head to a small shop that was the equivalent of a diner in my world. I ordered, and once again Kakashi denied having anything, not even a drink. I shook my head as his paranoia and dug in.

After I ate- and was even able to pay the bill! - We took to wandering the streets, slowly making our way around the entire village. As we walked, I took the opportunity to truly look around the world from the mind of Masashi Kishimoto.

It looked the way the TV shows had, but for one major difference: the people themselves. In the shows, the other residents of the village were a mere part of the backdrop, just something to fill in the spaces, all bland and boring. But now, because I was actually within the world itself, I saw things differently. The world here was bright and full of color, and very expressive compared to the way it was portrayed in the series. People were everywhere, and all of the common forms of expression by anime were also used by the people who had once been a part of the background. In one place, there had been a girl yelling and pointing at her friends accusingly, who were cowering in terror before her. We passed a couple people who had the anime sweat drops as they watched someone else jumping around excitedly, and yet another had wide eyes with only the whites as they recoiled from another, who looked sheepish.

I absorbed it all and loved it. For the first time, it occurred to me that if I never had the chance to get back home, living here wouldn't be so bad.

"Hey, Kakashi?" I asked, as we left the 'diner' and started walking down the street. "Yeah?" he answered, looking at me.

"Can we go see the Hokage memorial? I know there's a place where you can see it up close, but I've never been there before."

Kakashi shrugged. "I don't see why not," he said. We changed direction and made our way to the memorial wall.

Finally we had reached the platform that was right up next to the huge faces carved in the rock, and Kakashi offered to help me up there himself. I shook my head, though, and by his confused look, I explained my reasoning.

"I've always wanted to try and jump to the heights that you can. Even young children like Konohamaru and his friends can jump from tree to tree like it's nothing. That's not exactly a common thing where I come from," I said, shrugging and looking up at the platform. It was probably a good twenty feet away, and trying to jump that height when I could normally hardly clear a few inches made me nervous. But, this would be a good test to see if my developing theory was right.

Kakashi looked at me for a moment longer before jumping up to the platform and turning to look back down at me, waiting for me to try as well.

I took a deep breath and searched inside myself, looking. Finally, I found the small spark of that same strangeness that had overtaken me yesterday. But instead of it being cold, it seemed friendly, helpful. I knew it was the same as yesterday, though, because the instant I felt it, a feeling of confidence and fluidity overcame me, and suddenly twenty feet didn't seem so high. In fact, I felt as though I could do forty.

Looking up, I crouched and pushed off of the ground with my feet. When I landed next to Kakashi, crouching on all fours, I looked up and smiled at him, all too aware of the elongated incisors that had grown in my mouth.

Kakashi's eye widened as I stood up and looked at him, feeling the difference fade with every passing moment. The sharp top and bottom incisors receded, but the senses, enhanced once again, remained.

I sighed and looked at Kakashi, who was now staring at the top of my head. "What?" I demanded, instinctively feeling the top of my head to find what he was staring at.

I gasped. "They grew even more?" I groaned, pulling a bandana out of my back pocket and tying it on my head, hiding the now larger stubs of skin that were growing out of my scalp.

Flipping my hair back, I looked at Kakashi. "Can you still see them?" I asked, tilting my head forward and back so he could see. Kakashi shook his head, still looking shocked, and I sighed in relief and grabbed his hand. Ignoring the tingle I felt at the touch, I pulled him over to the opposite side of the platform, closest to the monuments, and we sat down against the wall.

Kakashi turned to me and raised an eyebrow. "Care to explain?" he asked, pointing to my head. I sighed.

"When I was little, my dad showed me and my twin- most of the story I told to the Hokage was true, in one way or another," I said, as Kakashi raised an eyebrow at me. "Well, anyway, he showed me and her these crescent-shaped birthmarks on our heads, and this circular birthmark on our tailbones. He told us a story about those marks."

I took a deep breath as Kakashi motioned for me to continue. "He told us that we had once been the owners of cat ears and tails."

Kakashi stared at me, and I could see the disbelief in his eyes. Sighing, I leaned back against the wall and looked up at the Hokages whose faces had been carved into the walls, an eternal memorial to their time serving the Leaf Village.

"I figured you wouldn't believe me. I could hardly even believe it myself." I snorted and looked at Kakashi. "But unless I've got tumors on my head and my ass at the same time, mysteriously on the exact birthmarks my father had once told me were the place of ears and a tail, I think I may be right."

Kakashi blinked and looked down, then back up at me. "Sorry," he said, and his eye and voice were sincere. "I didn't mean to doubt you. It's just one crazy thing after another with you, isn't it?" he said, chuckling and looking at me. I smiled with a trace of bitterness. "Yeah, too bad I hardly know what's happening to me," I said grimly. Kakashi put a hand on my shoulder, surprising me. "Don't worry, Emily," he said gently. "We'll find out what's going on with you. But until then, I should probably mention that when you smiled at me that first time, you had fangs on your lower and upper incisors, and your eyes had slitted pupils," Kakashi said, and though he would've sounded calm to anyone else, to my enhanced ears he sounded rather strained. I winced inwardly, realizing how freaked out he must really be about this, though he put on a brave face. I suddenly felt sorry that I'd caused him so much trouble.

"Jeez, I'm really sorry. I hadn't meant to do that, really," I said, looking at Kakashi sheepishly. "I just…looked inside myself and found the thing that had overcome me yesterday, I think…but this time, it was almost… ready to be used, and it was a different feeling from the way I'd felt yesterday. It was odd." I shook my head and tried to shift my position, but felt an uncomfortable pain on my tailbone. Groaning, I put a hand down there and felt a significantly larger bump on my tailbone. That was what I had sat on.

"Dammit," I swore quietly, readjusting my position. "Stupid half-grown tail. How the hell am I supposed to sit down normally?"

Kakashi looked at me for a moment, and then suddenly burst into laughter. I thought about what I'd just said, and then I started giggling, too.

When our laughing fits had finally subsided, Kakashi and I were leaning against each other for support, gasping for breath. We looked at each other and grinned, and Kakashi stood up, offering a hand to me. I took it, and he pulled me up so that we were standing very close to one another. We also hadn't let go of each other's hands.

Feeling a blush rise to my cheeks, I looked away and stepped back, heading back across the roof with Kakashi and looking down at the drop below me.

The powers came unbidden this time, washing across me gently like an ocean wave. It didn't feel as alien as the last time. In fact, now it felt a little bit more like me, as though I'd forgotten that this was how I was supposed to feel and I was only just remembering. I suddenly didn't want to go back to the ground just yet. When I jumped, I landed on another rooftop, with Kakashi right behind me. I looked back and grinned at him, and together we jumped again and ran across the rooftops of Konoha, never letting go of each other's hands.

It was late when we finally returned home, and I was happily exhausted from an afternoon spent finding out just how far my cat powers would stretch. Nothing too dangerous, but I did enough crazy stunts to make Kakashi swear frequently as he rushed to save me from my latest blunder. I was an idiot, it was true, but at least I knew how to have fun.

I was currently trying to stare up past my forehead as we walked. Kakashi looked and me and raised his eyebrow, and I grinned. "I'm trying to see my ears," I said. Kakashi shook his head. "I don't know how you can be so easily adapted to the idea of being part cat," he said, bemused. I shrugged, trying to feel for the hundredth time today whether the ears had grown at all. It seemed as though they had, and the conclusion Kakashi had drawn form this was that the process of the tail and ears growing was speeded up by sleeping and by using that power that made me more catlike in ability. It was completely natural to call it up now, like I'd been doing it all my life. Of course, I hadn't yet reencountered that other part of me, that part that knew so much more about killing than anyone ever should. I was still afraid of it, frankly, and wasn't sure if I could call it up at will, like the helpful cat abilities. Not that I really wanted to run around as a ruthless killing machine all the time. I just wasn't happy about the idea that it could come again at any time and totally take over.

I said goodnight to Kakashi and went inside, to be greeted by a very unfamiliar and unexpected voice.

_Took you long enough to get back, didn't it?_

I gasped and looked around, but there was no one there. Slowly pulling my kunai out of my pocket, I looked around and began to search the rooms one by one. I opened the door and peeked out into the backyard, but there was no one. Only Snickers, who was sitting on my bed, licking a paw and watching me. Placing the paw down, she stared at me hard and I heard the voice again.

_It's me, you idiot. Surely you can see that._

I blinked, unable to believe what I was hearing.

"Oh god. Snickers?" I whispered, desperately hoping it wasn't true.

_Who else? The mice in the backyard? _Snickers snorted and licked her lips. _They're dumb as doorknobs, to use one of your odd human expressions. Though they do make tasty snacks._

I covered my hands with my face and hoped it would all go away. "Not you too," I groaned, sitting down on the floor.

_What do you mean, me too? This is all your doing, Emily. _Snickers jumped down from my bed and walked over to me. Sitting down, she began to wash behind her ear casually. _After all, gaining the ability to speak with your kin is just another one of your inherited traits._

I looked at Snickers full-on now. Her mouth never opened when she spoke, so I assumed I had some sort of telepathic connection to her. Great. Let's chalk up yet another psycho ability to the list that should get me thrown in an asylum.

"Kin? Inherited trait? Obvious you know more about this than I do. Perhaps you should explain before I get myself locked up for all this insane shit," I said, feeling a little stupid for speaking to my cat and expecting her to answer. I knew she would, but some part of me just kept expecting her to stare at me and meow for food like she normally did, not have a full-fledged conversation with me.

A sigh echoed throughout my mind. _She really didn't tell you two anything, did she? _Snickers said, sounding like she was talking more to herself than me.

"She? She who? Are you talking about my mother?" I demanded, feeling more and more anxious by the second. Maybe I would finally get some answers. At long last, maybe I would finally understand why all this was happening to me. Hell, maybe I'd even get to know how to get back home.

Snickers looked like she was about to say something, but she abruptly changed her mind and stood up, walking toward the door. "Where are you going?" I asked, scrambling up and following after her.

Snickers sighed. _I figured you would want your- what's that word you humans use? Oh yes, boyfriend- to hear about this, _she said.

I blushed as I opened the door and let Snickers and myself out into the night air. "He's not my boyfriend!" I protested. Snickers just looked at me and snorted, then leapt down the stairs and trotted across the street to Kakashi's front door. Sitting down, she looked at me and said, _Well? You're going to have to get his attention. I'm a little short for this job, you know. _She meowed for emphasis.

Sighing and shaking my head at my insane life, I walked over to Kakashi's house and knocked on the door.

When it opened, Kakashi looked mildly surprised to see me. He had the same pants on as earlier today, but minus all the tape wrapped around his ankles and leg. He was also only wearing his mask, which apparently attached to a skin-tight, short-sleeved shirt underneath, I noticed. It was hard not to drool at the thought of that gorgeous six-pack, badly concealed under a thin layer of fabric.

Snickers meowed as she walked inside, and Kakashi looked down at her in surprise. "New development," I said as explanation, sighing. Kakashi nodded in understanding and let me in, where Snickers was already making herself at home on his couch. She was watching Kakashi as he followed me in. _You know, _she commented, _He would make a very good mate. Your kits would be healthy and very cute, I'd have to say. _

I rolled my eyes as I sat down next to her on the couch. "Great, even my cat thinks he's cute," I muttered to myself. Snickers made an odd movement that I realized was a shrug. _I was simply commenting on his good genes. No need to get protective, I won't steal him from you. _Snickers purred with amusement. _The very idea!_

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just keep your comments to yourself," I said, scratching under her chin despite myself. Snickers' purring increased, and she sighed in contentment. _No matter how you hear me, this will always feel good, _she said. I chuckled as I continued to scratch under her chin and behind her ears. "Good to know," I said.

Kakashi had been watching this whole exchange with his eyebrow raised. I looked at him and shrugged, grinning a little. "I can talk to cats now," I said.

_He seems to be taking this rather well, _Snickers commented, watching Kakashi as I described what had happened on my returning home.

I shrugged. "I suppose that not much else can surprise him now," I said to her. Kakashi chuckled, knowing I was talking to my cat. "You've got that right," he muttered.

"So, obviously you know something about what's happening to me," I said to Snickers. She stood up and stretched, then sat back down and nodded. It was an odd thing, watching my otherwise unresponsive cat physically respond to my question. I supposed it was for the benefit of Kakashi, who didn't have freaky cat telepathy.

Snickers sighed and stared at the ceiling. _This would have been so much simpler if my brother were here, _she said. _Or better yet, if I hadn't the need to do this at all._

"Well, I'm afraid that you're going to have to tell us, whether you like it or not," I stated, shrugging.

Snickers did what passed for an eye roll and jumped onto the coffee table, where she paced back and forth, trying to find a place to start.

_It's just that he was your Battle Tutor, while I am only fluent with your history, _she said at last. I blinked. "Battle tutor?" I asked. "A cat was going to teach me how to fight?"

Snickers shot me a sharp look. _Of course, _she said. _It's not as though you humans surpass us in battle skills, now is it? _She purred with amusement and flicked a glance at Kakashi, who was standing behind the couch, hands in his pockets. _Of course, some of you are better than others._

I rolled my eyes. "Earth to Snickers. Keep on track with the story here," I said, waving a hand in her face. Snickers glared at me and continued.

_Let's see. I should probably start from the beginning, so as to avoid confusion. Your ancestors are the Neko-Ninnin, or Cat-Humans, _Snickers said.

"Wouldn't it be the other way around?" I interrupted. "I mean, I do look more human than cat."

Snickers shook her head. _Actually, this is true only in the case of you and your sister, _she said.

I gasped, remembering my sister back in Chicago, unknowing of all the strange events that had befallen her sister in the last few days. Was she alright? Was she suddenly growing ears and a tail, too? Or was it just me?

"What about Melissa?" I asked worriedly. "This isn't happening to her too, is it?"

_Wait, I'll get to that, _she said. _Just be patient. I'll tell you all I know in due time. _Snickers stopped her pacing, and sat down in front of me, delicately licking a paw._ First, I think you should know how your clan came to be._


	8. Chapter 8

woo!! chapter eight!! **only two more until ten, and then you get a special surprise!! **but, i'll never tell you what it is... never!! *evil laugh*  
...*coughs* anyway. *heavy sarcasm* i really appreciate all the reviews i got on my Yu-Gi-Oh story, guys... it made me feel so good about myself. .  
i hardly care if you even read it!! all i need is one little review, saying anything. anything at all, it doesn't matter. just let me know that someone's alive out there who likes Yu-Gi-Oh too!! XP  
oh, and if you could please check out the poll at the top of my page?? that would be an enormous help, if you could vote in that. *puppy dog eyes* please please please?? again, don't care if you've even read the story or not. i need some feedback, so i know which direction to go with that!  
that's all for now. oh, and this chapter's more old legend/fairytale, but it doesn't start with "Once upon a time..." *looks at begining of story* ...but it's close enough. XD  
so, enjoy and let me know how my storytelling skills measure up!

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As Snickers began to speak, I realized I could see a picture in my mind's eye, and when I closed my eyes, it appeared to me as clearly as though the events were happening right in front of me. Judging by Kakashi's expression, he was getting the same picture, which saved me from the pain of repeating out loud everything Snickers said to me.

_Once, long ago, when all of the other first clan leaders were babies crying in their cribs, there was a desert lion, of the name Raion. There was no cat more powerful, more majestic, than he. His roar could shake mountains, and his strength was more than ten times that of the strongest human. His claws were tougher than steel, and his teeth were long as your hand. _

_But, despite his might and power, Raion felt as though something were missing. No matter how many enemies he ripped through, or how many pieces of juicy prey he caught, the feeling remained._

_Until one day, Raion, feeling restless, traveled to the nearby watering pool. Here, he beheld a sight unlike any he had ever laid eyes upon before: A woman, more beautiful than any Sakura blossom in the springtime. Her hair was shiny as silk, and lighter than Raion's own coat of soft fur, and her eyes were as blue and clear as the pool in which she bathed. Her name was Keikoku, and the moment Raion laid eyes on her, he knew. She was the answer to what was missing in his life. _

_When Keikoku first spotted him, she was afraid, for Raion was a formidable creature. But when he closed his eyes and turned away, for she was bathing, Keikoku was charmed by his genteel nature, and clothed herself, so that they might look on one another and talk._

_"O, great creature of the desert, what might your name be?" Keikoku enquired, bowing before Raion. _

_"You need not bow to me, fair lady, for truly your beauty surpasses that of all other creatures," Raion replied, kneeling down in front of Keikoku. "I am called Raion, and as long as you remain by my side, fair lady, I vow to protect you with my life."_

I opened my mouth, ready to interject and say something that could be called a wise-ass comment, but a hand on my shoulder stopped me.

"Let her finish. I know a good storyteller when I see one, and I would hate to disrupt her now. Now, relax and listen, because you might need to know this in the future," Kakashi said, his voice low so as not to disturb Snickers' rhythm. His mouth was right next to my ear, and I could feel tingles rush through me from the place where Kakashi's hand was on my arm.

I sighed and leaned back, closing my eyes. "Fine. But will you please just sit down? Your standing behind me is making me antsy," I whispered, tugging on Kakashi's arm. He waited until Snickers' eyes wee closed, then he lightly vaulted the couch and landed with his arms crossed, staring at me. I could've sworn he was sulking a little as he said, "There. Happy now?" I grinned at him and gave him a thumbs up before turning back to hear the rest of Snickers' story.

It appeared as though Snickers was more observant then we'd first thought, however. She sighed audibly, a long, slow sound, one made by someone who was quickly losing their patience. _Are the two mates-to-be done with their antics? _she snapped suddenly. I jumped. "Sorry, Snickers," I muttered, feeling a little guilty for interrupting her.

Snickers rolled her eyes. _Fine. Now don't move until I'm finished. Surely you kits can handle that? _she said. I nodded, and she continued, closing her eyes to get back into the story.

_As I was saying, Raion and Keikoku spent many long nights together, and quickly they grew to love each other. Raion kept his word to Keikoku, and protected her from the many evils that prowled the ancient lands. In return, Keikoku provided Raion with the one thing that he had been lacking: Love. _

_But, every legend must have its villian, does it not? In this particular legend, it was a powerful and cunning fox demon who had looked upon Keikoku's beauty and desired her for himself. He devised a clever plan to steal her away from Raion, and set it into motion._

_First, the fox demon poisoned a pool with a powerful drug, so that any who drank from its waters would fall into a deep sleep, one that those under its spell couldn't be woken from unless given a special antidote that only the fox demon knew the whereabouts of._

_Next, the demon spun a delectable piece of prey from shadows and cobwebs, and sent it to lead Raion and his lady to the poisoned pool. _

_The creature led Raion on a long and difficult chase, so that when it finally allowed itself to be caught at the pool, Raion was thirsty and tired from his chase. Of course, the moment his claws touched the prey beast, it burst into dust, and Raion had nothing to show for his efforts._

_"I'm sorry, my beautiful Keikoku," Raion said to his lady. "It appears as though we have been tricked by an evil force, so that we cannot eat tonight."_

_"This is of little matter to me, my love," Keikoku responded, leading Raion to the pool. "As long as you are alive and healthy, nothing else matters to me. Come now, drink, you have had a long and difficult hunt." _

_Raion drank deeply from the drugged pool, as did Keikoku, both unknowing of the dangers that lurked in the poisoned water. Suddenly overtaken by sleepiness, the two curled up together and fell asleep._

_The fox demon cackled with delight as he scooped up the slumbering form of Keikoku and returned with her to his lair, where he used the sleeping antidote to wake her._

_"Welcome, my darling Keikoku," the fox demon said, bowing to the frightened woman. "You have returned home."_

_Keikoku demanded to know where Raion was, but the demon would not tell her. "Why do you need that mangy lion, anyway?" the demon scoffed. "Here, you can have whatever you desire." _

_The demon conjured clothes of the finest fabric and most beautiful color for Keikoku to wear, and fed her with the finest meals one could imagine, so she was never hungry. He gave her a host of maids at her service, who would do anything she bid of them, and gave her a bedroom full of the most beautiful furniture and the softest bed sheets. He had transformed his dark lair into a beautiful castle, and gave the highest tower with the most beautiful view to Keikoku. She could want for nothing, yet she was discontent. She spent all of her time looking out of her tower window at the beautiful landscape below, thinking of her beloved Raion. She refused to order her maids to do anything, and ate her meals in silence before returning to her tower._

_Frustrated with his failed attempts to make Keikoku love him, the angry demon asked, "Why are you sorrowful? I have given you anything you could ever want, yet you are unhappy. What can I do to bring you joy?"_

_The sad beauty replied, "You can release me from this place and let me go to my true love, Raion." _

_Bellowing in sudden rage, the fox demon locked Keikoku in her room, snarling, "You will never leave here, not until you realize you love me and me alone!" _

_Tears streaming down her cheeks, Keikoku ran to her window. Summoning all of the strength she had, she called out across the landscape, "My beloved Raion! Please rescue me from these terrors!" _

_Having exhausted most of her strength, Keikoku slumped to the ground, but the mountains rang with her call._

_Raion heard the cry of his lover and struggled to free himself from the grip of the drug that coursed through his system. Try as he might, he could not break the power of the enchantment, and was forced to hear the unanswered pleas of his love ring across the landscape._

_Of course, many heard the desperate call of Keikoku, but only one made any action to help her. His name was Hatake Shiranani. _

I gasped as the image appeared in my mind's eye. The man looked almost exactly like Kakashi, minus the sharinganand the mask. His name was the same too, I realized.

Opening my eyes, I exchanged a shocked look with Kakashi. How could one of his ancestors have anything to do with this tale? It was crazy.

_Shiranani had seen the demon fox poison the pool that Keikoku and Raion had drank from, and set out to find it again, upon reaching the pool, he found the still slumbering Raion, trapped in the enchantment. _

_Being skilled with herbs and antidotes, Shiranani knew what the demon had used to create the drug, and the best herbs to combat its effects._

_Quickly compiling the ingredients necessary, Shiranani infused the antidote together by using his own chakra, and making his presence known to the sleeping Raion, he opened the lion's mouth and poured the liquid down his throat. _

_"The rest relies on your strength of will," Shiranani told Raion, aware that he would process the words he was hearing, even while sleeping. "If you truly love this woman who calls out to you, then you will fight with every fiber of your soul and being to free yourself from this curse to save her." _

_Deep inside his own subconscious, Raion could feel the curse slowly weakening under the influence of the antidote that had been fed to him. In his mind, his dream self unleashed a mighty roar and began to rip and tear and the enchantment keeping him asleep._

_The battle to awakening was long and difficult, but finally, Raion snapped awake from his heavy stupor and stood up, shaking his shaggy coat. looking at Shiranani, he bowed to him and said, "Thank you, noble and kind soul, for freeing me from that prison woven in my own mind. I, Raion of the desert, am in your debt." _

_Shiranani inclined his head respectfully before the great lion. "There is no need to thank me, Raion of the desert," he replied. "I was merely doing what should have been done. Now, you must save your lover in her time of need, before the fox demon destroys her in his terrible anger."_

_Raion inclined his head and asked for Shiranani to accompany him to rescue Keikoku. The mysterious man accepted, and together, human and lion journeyed to the fox demon's castle, where they devised a clever plan that would get Keikoku back to Raion._

_Alone, Raion approached the castle and unleashed a mighty roar that set the foundations of the castle itself trembling._

_"Fox demon! O spirit of fire and all that is evil, I challenge you! A battle to the death, for possession of the woman Keikoku!" Raion called, his voice calm and sure._

_Keikoku rushed to her window at the sound of her love's voice. Alas, her window did now allow her view of the path approaching the castle, but the sound of Raion's voice alone brought hope back to the beauty's heart._

_Meanwhile, Shiranani was creeping around the castle to the tower that held Keikoku. Moving quietly, so as not to be discovered by the fox demon, the man began to scale the side of the tower._

_Raion waited for the fox demon to appear, and when he finally did, he was a terrifying sight. The demon's tails slashed vicious arcs through the air, and his maddened eyes and razor-sharp teeth thirsted for blood._

_"Foolish lion! I accept your challenge! I will leave you bleeding on the ground!" the demon roared, and the two leapt at each other, the sound of their crash making the very earth shake. Trees were crushed under the weight of the battling creatures, and great swathes of land were laid to ruin. Still, the two fought on, the sun becoming higher and higher in the sky, then slowly sinking back down toward the horizon._

_Raion knew that Keikoku had already been rescued by Shiranani, but his sense of honor would not let him run away from the fight until a winner was declared._

_Finally, the two creatures jumped apart, both bleeding from several wounds on their bodies. They were both fatigued from the long fight, and night was about to fall. Panting, the creatures faced off, both knowing that the next blow to be dealt would be the last._

_Keikoku and Shiranani watched from their hiding spot in the bushes, Keikoku refusing to leave without first seeing if her lover would survive the epic battle. Her heart tore painfully when she saw how injured Raion was, how tried he looked. She worried for his survival, despite his mighty strength and prowess. The demon was much stronger than he, it was plain._

_Yet, something kept Raion fighting longer than any enemy twice his size and might could have gone: his fierce desire to keep Keikoku safe. He would never go back on his word, no matter how tough things got. He would die before he did that._

_Suddenly, the fox demon leaped forward with a speed that surprised Raion, who had been deceived by the wounds on the fox. The demon slashed his sharp claws across Raion's throat. Raion fell to the ground, blood gushing out of the wound. The demon cackled, sure he had won. _

_"Now, the woman is mine! You are a fool, Raion of the desert! It was hopeless to try to take me on in the first place, for it is clear your strength is no match for mine!"_

_The fox demon pranced around Raion's body as the life slowly seeped from him. Keikoku wept as she believed her lover to be dead._

_Shiranani, however, leaped out of his hiding spot and ran to Raion. He knew the lion was alive, but only barely. Moving quickly, the man began a dangerous jutsu, one that would save Raion's life, but at the cost of his own._

_Keikoku cried out as Shiranani's body fell to the ground, lifeless, as the jutsu was completed. The fox demon stopped moving and stared in awe, as did Keikoku, at the change that was overcoming the fallen Shiranani. Slowly, it changed and transformed to become more cat than human, with fur, ears, and a tail, but with Raion's deep golden eyes that Keikoku knew so well._

_No longer entirely a cat, but not quite human, either, the newly transformed Raion jumped up, ready to take on the fox demon once more._

_Raion growled in anticipation as he unsheathed his claws. "Are you ready to take me on now, vile demon?" he spat. "You don't stand a chance, for now I am avenging a fallen comrade as well as fighting for my love's life. Do you think you can take me?"_

_Snarling and growling, the fox demon reluctantly admitted defeat and escaped before Raion could give him the finishing blow. _

_Keikoku rushed out of her hiding place and threw herself into Raion's arms. "I knew you would come for me, my love," she said, kissing him deeply. "Of course. Nothing will ever sever the bonds that bind us," Raion replied. _

_Shiranani was given the highest honor as a hero, for saving Raion's life by sacrificing his own. In the molding of Raion's spirit to Shiranai's dead body- for that was what the jutsu had done- Raion's lion soul had created some of the changes that made him part cat, and essentially, the first of the Neko-Ninnin._

Snickers paused, whiskers twitching. _Of course, the rest is, as they say, history,_ she said, before unleashing a huge yawn and stretching.

I blinked. I'd just had a lot thrown at me, but I had even more questions. Why did that always happen to someone? A person gets so close to the answers they've been searching for, and upon receiving the information, they're left with even more questions? What kind of fairness is hat?

"Wow, Snickers," I managed to say at last. "How could you do that? It was…"

"Amazing," Kakashi supplied. I nodded. "Yeah. Amazing," I said.

Snickers did her cat-shrug and jumped into my lap, obviously looking for a scratch under the chin. Some things never changed.

_You mean the pictures? It's the job of a Lore Master to be able to give you as clear an image as possible of your past, so that you may more fully understand it. It is essential. _Snickers purred in contentment as I scratched behind her ears and underneath her chin.

"So you're a Lore Master," I said slowly, "And KitKat is a …Battle Master? For what, exactly? And how did you get to know what you do?"

_Isn't the answer obvious? We were trained to be this way. All twin cats are trained to be Guides to the Neko-Ninnin, _Snickers said.

Jesus. It seemed the farther we got into this, the more confusing it got. "Wait, Guides? What do you mean?" I asked.

Snickers huffed in impatience. _Normally you would've known more of this, had your mother not been so hasty… _she mused, more to herself than us.

I groaned in frustration and buried my head in my hands. "This is ridiculous," I muttered. "Why the hell is this happening to me?"

A hand rested on my shoulder hesitantly, and I looked up to find Kakashi looking at me sympathetically. "We'll figure it all out in time, don't worry," he said. "And I'm sorry to interject here with my own problems, but why would a man with the same surname as myself be in this story? And with my never having heard of him before now, too?" Immediately, I felt guilty for forgetting all about his own problems.

Snickers sat up straight and stared at Kakashi. _Your name is Hatake Kakashi? _she asked, her voice hardly more than a whisper. He nodded, and Snickers' countenance completely changed. She went from relaxed and contented to anxious and aggravated. She jumped of my lap and took to pacing on the coffee table again, tail lashing.

_So, it seems as though the time has finally come… Heather warned us about this, but I couldn't believe that they were the twins of legend… _Snickers muttered, again talking to herself.

"Whoa, wait a minute. Twins of legend? What are you talking about now?" I asked, irritated.

Snickers stopped and looked at me. I didn't like the look. It seemed almost…mournful.

Uh oh.

_You and your sister…are destined to save this world, _Snickers said.


	9. Chapter 9

*flinches* i'm so so so so so so so so so so sorry!!!!! *whimpers* though i do my best to not have a real life, it caught up with me over the weekend and i totally forgot about the chapter!!! *cries* this is the only time i've missed a deadline!! i'm so sorry!! i won't do it again!!  
but... even though you got this chapter out late, at least you don't have to wait as long between this and the next, right? .  
plase forgive me for this injustice! *throws self at your feet* and enjoy while you're beating me up! XD

* * *

I gaped at Snickers in shock. "What?"

Snickers sighed. She didn't seem to have much patience with me. _I just said, you and Melissa-_

"Yeah, yeah, I know what you said," I snapped, interrupting her. "I just want to know what you mean by it."

_Well, you and your sister are direct descendants of Raion and Keikoku, _Snickers said. _The first children Raion and Keikoku had together were twins, one boy and one girl, _Snickers said. _They were both furred like their father, but they possessed the blue eyes of their mother. For whatever reason, only the females of the line had twins. Perhaps it was the fact the Keikoku also had a female twin… _Snickers mused.

I cocked my head to the side as I looked at Snickers. "She had a twin? What happened to her?" I asked.

_She died, _Snickers answered shortly. I wondered why she seemed to take offense at the question. I exchanged a quick glance with Kakashi, who seemed as curious about her response as I was.

"At the risk of having my head bitten off… how?" I asked.

_She was a warrior, who died protecting her sister from Kyuubi, who had tried to make an advance on her before, _Snicker said,

I gaped at her in surprise. "Kyuubi? You mean… the nine-tailed fox demon?" I asked. "Like… the one sealed inside Naruto?"

Snickers gasped. _The nine-tails is sealed inside that blond buffoon? _She looked at me and blinked a few times before shaking her head in awe. _I would never have guessed_.

I grinned a little. "Yeah, I can see that," I told her.

Snickers ignored me and asked, _How did such a powerful demon end up trapped in the body of a child? _

I translated for Kakashi, and let him answer. I didn't want to show off my knowledge of all things _Naruto_, past, present and future. I didn't want Kakashi to ask too many questions. I doubted he could handle the shock of being told that he and his entire world were really made-up things, from the mind of Masashi Kishimoto.

"You see, twelve years ago, the nine-tailed fox demon, Kyuubi, had been terrorizing our village. Many shinobi died in the battle against the creature, but the village's Fourth Hokage was finally able to seal the demon away inside the body of a newborn child. The cost of the sealing was his own life. Now, Naruto is the terror of the village, or was, until he became a genin and calmed down a bit," Kakashi explained to Snickers. "The boy hardly knows anything of the demon trapped inside him, and up until a few days ago he didn't know about it at all. So, in case you were worried that Naruto would use Kyuubi to his advantage, you've got nothing to worry about," he finished cheerfully.

"That boy has a heart of gold," I confirmed when Snickers glanced at me for agreement. "He'll have real power someday, I just know it."

Snickers merely nodded thoughtfully, and didn't comment. I studied her, wondering what she was thinking about. Being a cat, her face gave nothing away, so I gave up and asked another question.

"So, what's the deal with my mother?" I wanted to know. "What does she have to do with any of this?"

Snickers blinked and looked at me, as though coming out of deep thought.

_Yes, yes, your mother…_ she said absentmindedly, still distracted. I poked her in the side, and was rewarded with a pair of sharp claws flashing out towards my hand. I reacted instinctively, pulling back in the blink of an eye and growling at Snickers. And I do mean _growling. _The sound that passed from between my bared teeth sounded more like a predatory animal rather than an annoyed human. I was also aware again of my canines growing longer, like the teeth of a cat.

Well, duh. I suppose that made more sense now.

Despite my ferocious display, Snickers looked unfazed as she studied me coolly. _Well, so far you've lived up to your legend, _she commented. _But we're going to have to get that Instinct under control. We can't have you lashing out at random strangers because they bumped into you, now can we? _She purred with amusement before jumping off the coffee table and heading towards the door.

"Wait a minute, where the hell are you going?" I demanded in English, jumping up after her. "I still have so many questions!"

Snickers stopped at and looked at me condescendingly, which pissed me off a lot. I was beginning to discover how much I hated my cat. If these powers stuck when I got back home, I hoped KitKat would be a little friendlier.

_It is late. We should leave your mate alone and go back home to rest. Besides, you need to grow out your ears and tail as quickly as possible, and the best way to do that is by sleeping, _Snickers said.

I gritted my teeth, but I knew she was right. Even now, I could feel sleep tugging at the edges of my eyelids, weighing them down. Plus, I was exhausted from my day. Really, all I wanted to do was sleep.

Growling under my breath, I turned to Kakashi to tell him my cat's decision. He just nodded, and, surprisingly, yawned, putting a hand to his face as he did so.

I found myself giggling at the absurdity of this action. "Kakashi," I laughed, "No one can see your face anyway. There's no point to covering your mouth." I stopped as a sudden thought came to me.

"Hey, what do you do when you sneeze?" I asked him. "Do you just sneeze into your mask or something? Or do you pull it down?"

Kakashi looked at me oddly for a moment, then burst into laughter. I looked indignant and crossed my arms. "I'm serious!" I protested.

Kakashi managed to get himself under control, and he wiped a tear from his eye. "I know. That's why it's so funny," he said at last, gently leading me to the door with one hand on my back. Though the brief contact sent tingles down my spine, I couldn't help but yawn hugely as I stood at the door.

"Get some sleep," Kakashi advised me. "You'll really need it for tomorrow. Maybe your ears will have grown a little more by then," He winked at me before opening the door and showing us out.

"I've got a tail, too!" I called to his closed door as I walked away, and I could hear Kakashi's muffled laughter at my antics.

Yawning again, I hardly even kicked my shoes off before collapsing into bed, and suddenly that crappy spring mattress was one of the softest things I'd ever slept on in my life.

Waking up slowly the next morning, I glanced at my alarm clock, which I'd forgotten to set the night previously, and blinked in surprise when I discovered that it was already eleven. Lucky it was Sunday, or I'd have been screwed.

I shuffled into the bathroom and yawned, glancing at myself in the mirror as I did so. Ear growth seemed to be a lot farther along than yesterday. In fact, the ears were fully formed on my head, but they were hairless and small, like the ears of a kitten. They twitched as I looked at them, and I tried to consciously move them. This got me a little more twitching, but I couldn't fully move them around, and the new muscles didn't feel the way I'd thought they would. I was expecting the ears to feel completely alien to me, but instead I hardly felt them at all. I had about as much feeling with them as I did my real ears, and about as much movement. I suspected that this was because of the fact that my ears were still growing, however, not a lack of muscles.

Sighing, I turned my attention to my tail. As I looked back there, I let out a shriek of horror.

It looked like I had a boner coming from my ass!

"Oh, dear god," I muttered to myself as I desperately tried to twitch my four-inch tail into a position so that it didn't look like I had a major erection on my tailbone. Finally, the stupid thing mostly listened to me, and I had it down so that there was only a small, hopefully unnoticeable bump here the tail had been.

Suddenly, though, I realized that if the tail worked like a regular muscle in my body, then all I'd had to do was relax the muscle, and the thing would have limply fallen down, out of sight.

Wow, that sounded really perverted. But it probably would have worked, had I not been so panicked about the whole thing.

I groaned and smacked my forehead, feeling like an idiot. Of course, the feeling didn't last long, as I felt curiosity overcome me at what my scary tail-boner looked like currently. Curiosity killed the cat, I know, but I really wanted to see. I would probably have to start paying more attention to those sayings, too, considering what I was slowly turning into.

I eased my pants down just enough so that I could see the thing. It wasn't very long yet, only about four inches, as I'd mentioned before, and it was about the circumference of a bottle cap. Unlike my ears, which were hairless, I soon discovered that my tail-to-be was covered with a layer of blond peach fuzz, roughly the same color as my hair. I touched the tail gently, and it twitched in response.

Okay. The thing reminded me too much of a penis to look at it any longer. I quickly returned my pants to their rightful place and walked out of the bathroom to go eat breakfast.

As I walked into the kitchen, hoping that I hadn't eaten all of the cereal yet, I found Kakashi casually leaning on my counter, petting Snickers.

Blinking at him in only mild surprise, because my brain wasn't completely functioning yet, I grabbed the cereal and started eating it from the box.

Kakashi looked at me oddly and continued petting my cat while I ravenously devoured what was left in the box. Once it was empty, I threw it away and turned to face Kakashi.

"What?" I asked him. Kakashi merely raised an eyebrow at me, and I huffed with impatience. "There's gotta be a reason that you're standing in my kitchen at eleven o'clock in the morning," I told him, folding my arms.

_We never finished going over everything that you needed to know last night, you fool, _Snickers snapped. _Or did you forget already?_

"Shut up. I remember," I hissed at her, not in the mood to deal with her snotty shit. It made me feel oddly injured to know that the cat who had been living with me ever since I got my apartment in New York was such a bitch. I'd spilled my every secret to her, and she'd drunk it all in, watching me with those deceivingly innocent blue eyes. I hated how spurned it made me feel, and her sharp comments didn't help.

"So, before you go over any other shit, I want to know: What does my mother have to do with this?" I asked, enunciating each word clearly, so there would be no mistake.

Snickers sighed. _Your mother is a direct descendant in the Neko-Ninnin line, a true heir to the powers of the cat, _she said, sounding oddly wistful. _She would have been a powerful asset to the clan, had she not been so wild and rebellious…_

I couldn't imagine my mother as wild and rebellious. My mother was a quiet, dark haired woman who kept to herself, and showed her love in subtle ways. I tried to imagine her with ears and a tail, and I failed at that as well. My mother wasn't one of those cat types, to me.

"How did she end up with my father?" I asked.

Snickers gave her cat shrug. _No one really knows, _she answered. _People have assumed she met him when she ran away from the clan, and that they died somehow. She hasn't been seen in this world since you and your sister were born._

'_Haven't been seen in this world'… _Suddenly it all clicked into place.

"They thought she died, but she really got transported into my world somehow," I said in an awed whisper. "She met my dad in this world, got pregnant, and then they got sucked into my world, where my sister and I were born." I shook my head at the craziness, while Kakashi remained silent, absorbing the information.

"Why did she run?" he said at last. "From your clan, I mean."

Suddenly Snickers looked like she didn't really want to talk about this. _She ran from… an arranged marriage, _she said reluctantly.

I stared at her. "An arranged marriage?" I echoed. "Why in hell would you set up an arranged marriage? Everyone knows those things are bad news! People kill themselves and others over those things! They tear families apart! Jesus, why would that clan do such a thing?" I was so riled up by this statement that I had slipped into English without realizing it. Kakashi laid a hand on my shoulder and said quietly, "Arranged marriages used to be quite common here. They don't pop up so often anymore, but every now and then you get a few unlucky couples who have been saddled to one they don't love because the families get money or fame out of it."

I had been raised with the idea that finding the one you love should be the most important thing in your life, so the idea of an arranged marriage did not sit comfortably with me. I started to be grateful towards my mother for running away and getting sucked into America, though the last part probably wasn't really her idea. I was finding out that the more I knew of my clan, the less I seemed to like them.

"So, my dad was a totally normal human from this world?" I asked Snickers. She nodded. _That is what we believe. _

"Okay, new question. You keep talking about the clan and all of this stuff like you were there when it happened, but you couldn't have been there, because you're only ten in human years. So, how does that work?"

_It's rather simple, you see, _Snickers said. _Cats born within the Neko-Ninnin clan age more slowly than the average cat. This way, we don't leave this world before the ones we were selected to train are ready. I'm actually twenty-two or so in your human years. _

I blinked in surprise. "Wow. I wouldn't have guessed," I murmured. Snickers snorted. _Of course not. That was the idea, _she said.

"Okay, so what about KitKat? What exactly was he supposed to teach me? You mentioned something about an instinct or something earlier. Did you mean the weird cat powers I had, that made my teeth grow and my pupils get slitted?" I shuddered involuntarily at the memory of the day before, when Kakashi made me angry and I came dangerously close to killing him. But then there was the time when I called up my powers at will, so that I could jump the height to the viewing platform at the Hokage monument. That was the same thing, but it had been different, somehow.

Snickers shrugged. _I only know the feeling is what the Battle Masters call the Instinct. True cats, like my brother and myself, are born with the Instinct at all times. In the case of the Neko-Ninnin, they must learn to call it up themselves, to be able to use it effectively. I'm afraid that was my brother's area of expertise, so that is all I know. If the seal hadn't broken once we got here, though, we wouldn't have this problem right now. _Snickers muttered the last part to herself, like she had been talking more to herself than me.

I became instantly suspicious. "What seal?" I demanded. Snickers jumped and hissed at me. Obviously, her thoughts had drifted away from the conversation at hand.

_It was a seal your mother preformed on herself, you, and your sister simultaneously, called the Tri-Pronged Seal. Normally, it was used to disguise the true forms of the Neko-Ninnin, when they went out on missions. You see, many people feared what they considered to be demons and evil spirits, when in reality were just the furred bodies of our clan. Therefore, we went into hiding._ I sent Snickers a questioning look, and she sighed. _I said you and your sister were different, remember? It is because your mother mated with a regular human, and somehow, instead of being complete mutations, you and your sister were born the way you are. _Snickers paused. _Well, if your ears and tail were fully grown out, of course._

_But, back to the Seal. Your mother had you two in hiding, away from any human doctors and hospitals. Your mother looked like one of the Neko-Ninnin when she had been transported into your world, so of course a regular hospital was out of the question. So, to hide herself and the two of you, she preformed the Tri-Pronged Seal, which should have been impossible in her weakened state, moments after birthing two children. There is no power like that of motherly love, I suppose. It can accomplish great things when put to the test. _

I tried to envision my mother, furred and sweaty, tail lashing and ears twitching, performing a seal on herself and her daughters to save them from the harsh realities of a world where only humans abound. It must have taken a great strain to accomplish a feat like that, I realized. Again, I felt a sudden burst of gratitude and love for my mother, who had been through so much, just to keep me and Melissa safe. I also felt a flood of guilt for taking it all for granted as I grew up. There was a chance that I might be stuck in this world forever, and I would never again see the mother who had raised me and my sister and endured such secret torments. I might never get the opportunity to thank her…

It was quiet for a moment as Kakashi and I absorbed the information that had been given to us. I was about ready to suggest that we get on with my training, seeing as the day wasn't going to wait for us, when Kakashi spoke.

"So, what happens if one part of the seal is broken?" he asked. I paused to think about that, and my eyes widened in horror.

Apparently Snickers hadn't thought this through, either, because her eyes widened and her mouth actually dropped open.

"Nothing good, I'm guessing," Kakashi said, looking between the two of us.

_O-once the seal has been broken, its power begins to wear off slowly. In about three days, it's completely gone. To renew the seal, three people must be gathered again. It cannot be done with one alone. _Snickers' voice was quivering, and we looked at each other fearfully, irritation at one another put aside at the thought of our family being in danger.

"So, what are they going to do? I mean, unless Mom and Dad visit Mel-who is several hundred miles away, and you know how they hate flying- they can't renew the seal anyway, not without me!" I could feel the tears building up, threatening to spill over and down my cheeks. I'd switched back to English again, but I didn't care. I could fill Kakashi in later. "Snickers, we have to get back home somehow. If we don't…" I was afraid to say the rest. Snickers nodded, fear still prominently in her eyes, and she jumped off the counter and stood in front of me.

_We have to get back. No matter what, _she said. I nodded and picked her up, holding her close to me like a lifeline.

It took some work, but I finally managed to get myself under control. I hadn't spilled a single tear, and when I looked up at Kakashi, there was a new fire in my gaze as I said, "Give me five minutes and we can be out the door. I need to train. After all, we don't want me to randomly lash out at people in the street, now do we?"

* * *

oh, and one more thing! **there's only one chapter left before you get the surprise!! **so, not only do i hope you like it and hope it gives you a taste of projects to come, but i've gotta rewrite it, cause i'm way off mark... XD but it'll be done, i promise you!


	10. Chapter 10

*bangs head against desk* Brynn has been a bad girl! you must punish her! though she had a reason this time!  
went to a friend's house, you see. *winces* i know, worse excuse ever. but friends have to come before the internet, as much as i feel terrible about doing this to you guys. *looks ashamed* maybe i should change the deadline, since most of my weekends become busy...  
i'll think about it. but anyway, to appease you hungry readers, i've posted your surprise!!! :D no dsetails, you must all go read it yourselves to find out what it is!!! ;D  
hope you like it, and the first double-digit chapter, too!! woo!!! XD

* * *

In the few weeks that followed, I quickly learned how to call up my cat Instinct and use it to my advantage. I wasn't quite as deadly as I had been when that cold-blooded rage had overflowed me, but I was much quicker, more flexible and my reflexes were faster. My muscle strength built up, and my healing powers kept me from getting too sore to train. Catnapping at every possible moment- which was suddenly so much easier than it had ever been before- contributed to the speedy growth of my ears and tail. My ears were now fully grown and were covered in soft blond fur, the exact color of my hair. I wore a bandana to hide them, but sometimes I could feel them twitch of their own accordance at some sound I would hear behind me. I now had total control over them, and after a few hours of practicing in the mirror, I had it down pat.

My tail had grown to be about a foot and a half long, and didn't show any signs of stopping. I found that it, like my ears, was rather easy to control, once I had a little practice. The tail was completely prehensile, which I found to be rather odd, considering that no species of cat had a prehensile tail. Still, I thought it was kind of cool.

My tail was also covered in blonde fur, and, with all my extra naps, would grow about an inch a day, on average. One day, I slept until two in the afternoon, and then took a three-hour nap while I accompanied the three genin and Kakashi on a mission to clear some brush out of someone's backyard. I didn't get paid for it, but I got an inch and a half out of the deal. Not bad, in my opinion.

I considered numerous times telling Mikki about the whole deal, but I kept deciding against it. I didn't know if I could trust her, despite the fact that we became fast friends over the course of those few weeks. I even slept over at her house once, where she finally gave me that super-secret Mikki advice she'd been dying to tell me ever since that day at the ramen shop.

"Okay, now I can finally reveal to you the super-secret, hard-earned, completely right Mikki-wisdom. Are you ready?" I had rolled my eyes at her and nodded for her to continue. Maybe if she got it out of her system, she'd leave me alone about it.

"Okay, so the first thing you need to look for to see if a guy likes you is if he spends a lot of time with you," Mikki said, sounding a lot like one of those magazines that teenage girls read that gave dating advice and printed embarrassing stories that readers sent in. "If he puts aside all other things just so he can spend time with you, then that's an excellent sign."

Despite myself, I thought of the way Kakashi had given Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke time off so that he would have more time to train with me. But that was silly, I told myself. We were trying to find out more about my new powers, that's all.

Mikki was still talking, eager to share her wisdom with me. "The second thing you should look for is if he looks at you all the time. I don't care if he's checking out your ass or just looking you in the face. It's a good thing… unless he looks hungry. Then I think you should run." Mikki grinned at me, and we laughed.

This time, I had no excuse. I had caught Kakashi staring at me multiple times since we started training together, and I think he particularly enjoyed it when I ran out of clothes and had to wear a dress to work. It wasn't just my ass he looked at though, like most guys would; I'd seen him looking at my face, my hair, even my feet once. I knew guys thought I was pretty, but most of the time they were looking at my too-small boobs or my ass, never my face.

Mikki paused and thought for a moment, finger to her chin. I raised an eyebrow at her. "You aren't just making this up as you go along, are you?" I asked, teasing her. "Or is it just that you have such a vast library of knowledge that it takes you a while to find what you're looking for?"

Mikki grinned. "I appreciate the compliment," she said, giggling. I rolled my eyes, and she cleared her throat importantly and continued.

"Let's see… if a guy likes you, he'll probably make a lot of personal contact. A touch on the shoulder here, a brush of the hand there… it's so romantic." Mikki sighed dreamily and stared into the distance; I had to snap my fingers in front of her face to keep her going.

"Anyway, I've got one more for you. If a guy likes you, he'll become very protective of you. He won't like it if he sees you chumming around with other guys, and will probably make some stupid argument with you about it. If he does that, it's probably a good idea to call him out on his crush. I've found that things usually progress… rather well from there." Mikki's eyes gleamed mischievously, and I smacked her on the arm.

"Mikki! You're ridiculous sometimes," I exclaimed, shaking my head. Mikki grinned impishly.

"What can I say? These are tried-and-true signs, and that last little thing will always work for you," she said. I rolled my eyes, and Mikki's face turned expectant.

"So? Did I hit the nail on the head?" she asked, eager for information. I sighed and thought about lying, but then I realized it would be futile. I was bad at thinking on my feet, and Mikki was bound to ask one too many questions. She did that a lot, I noticed.

Sighing again, I admitted, "All but the last one. But I'm not exactly a social butterfly, so I hardly know any other guys my age."

Mikki's face split into a grin, and she pumped her fist in the air in a silent victory dance. "Ha ha!" she crowed triumphantly. "I knew it! I knew it all along! He's totally into you, Emily-chan!"

I rolled my eyes and sighed in response, and Mikki looked at me, puzzlement stealing over her features.

"Why do you not celebrate with me, Emily-chan?" she asked, head cocked to one side. "I know you like him too. Why aren't you happy at all the good signs?"

I should've known this question was coming. I tried to avoid it, but at last it was staring me in the face. Mikki's curiosity would not be satisfied until her question was answered, and this was one that I couldn't answer truthfully. No one would believe me if I did.

"See, the thing is… I really like Kakashi, it's true. But I'm trying to keep my distance from him for a reason." I sighed, knowing Mikki would want more.

"I don't really know how much longer I'll be staying here. I don't want to get into a relationship and then have to leave him."

"So don't leave." The statement was so simple, so straightforward, that I was momentarily thrown by it.

"What do you mean, don't leave?" I gaped at Mikki. "I have to leave sometime! I can't spend my whole life cooped up in some tiny village! I have family, friends, a whole different _life _I need to get back to! I can't just leave them hanging like that!" My stump of a tail lashed under my pajamas, and I had to struggle to bring it back under control. My ears were pressed back against my head in distaste, and if I'd been all cat, I'd probably be hissing right now.

"So why haven't you left yet?" Mikki asked quietly. I realized with a start that she was becoming suspicious of me. She was fishing around, trying to find evidence to support her theory, whatever it was.

"I haven't left yet because…" I frantically racked my brain for an answer. "Because… I have no more money, and I'm staying until I can get enough of it so I can make the journey back home," I finally said, proud of myself for coming up with a reasonable answer so quickly.

Mikki nodded thoughtfully, her countenance returning to that of her usual self, but I could still see a glint of distrust in her eyes. It was also at that moment that I realized something: I had just set a deadline to get myself out of here.

During all this time, I was beginning to wonder when the events that I knew took place in the next few episodes were going to happen. If I was right, then after the bell exercise should come the moment when Team 7 and Kakashi would be assigned a C-ranked mission, yet I hadn't seen anything that would even suggest that was about to happen. The only thing I really noticed was that Naruto was getting increasingly irritated by the grunt work that they did all the time. He wanted real action, but he wasn't getting any of it. I was waiting for that to boil over, and for him to protest to the Hokage about their missions.

Finally, the day came when I was rudely awoken by a fierce pounding on my door. Muttering obscenities in English that made Snickers wince, I shuffled to the door and flung it open. My eyes still clouded with sleep, I glared at the orange blob in front of me. "What do you want, Naruto?" I growled.

The hyperactive ninja didn't seem to notice my annoyance. "Good morning, Emily-chan! You'll never guess what happened just now! We got a C-ranked mission from the Hokage! We have to protect this bridge builder guy from rouge ninja and stuff, and since Kakashi-sensei said it was okay, I wanted to know if you wanted to come along!"

I had been dozing off where I stood, but my eyes snapped open at the mention of the C-ranked mission. So, I guess it was finally here. The infamous mission in which Kakashi and his team get much more than what they bargained for when they are attacked by Zabuza and Haku.

And now they wanted me to come along. Jeez, could this get any worse?

I didn't want to mess with the events of this series too much, afraid that I might kill a character on accident or something, but Naruto just looked so hopeful…

I let out a breath. "Alright. I'll come. Give me fifteen minutes and I'll meet you guys by the gate leading out of the village, okay?" Naruto nodded eagerly and took off, headed to the gate.

Shaking my head at the kid's energy, I turned around and walked into my room, where I'd left a disgruntled Snickers on my bed, where we'd both been sleeping before Naruto's wake-up call.

I quickly explained the situation to her while I got dressed and ready to go. "So," I said, munching on a Poptart- they had those here! I had been so excited to find this out- "are you coming, or not?"

Snickers yawned and stretched before sitting down and washing her face with a paw. _I suppose I should accompany you, seeing as I am one of your tutors, _she said at length, putting the paw back down.

I nodded and jerked my head towards the door. "Okay. Then we leave now. Come on, the others will be waiting for us," I said, opening the door and beckoning her outside.

After a few minutes of jumping on rooftops, Snickers and I arrived at the gates, where the bridge builder- whose name escaped me presently- Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi were all waiting.

"Finally!" Naruto exclaimed when I reached them, Snickers trailing along behind. "What took you so long?"

"She's five minutes early," Kakashi told him. I laughed, and Naruto pouted and crossed his arms.

"Whatever! Let's go!" he cried, and took off out of the village.

I grinned to myself as I watched him go, and exchanged a polite nod with the bridge builder as the rest of us started walking. He muttered something under his breath, obviously not meant for any of us to hear, but my sharp ears picked it up easily. "So far, I like that one best."

Smiling to myself, I fell into step with Kakashi, hands shoved into my pockets, as I watched the three genin pull ahead of us. Naruto was making his own path, while Sakura was tagging along next to Sasuke, who looked bored as usual.

I rolled my eyes. They were still so young, so naïve, and it would be a long while before they grew and matured. Except for Sasuke. In my opinion, he never left his childish behavior behind, and losing his family was no excuse for that. Instead, he should have concentrated on making himself a better person because of what had happened to him, and tried to restore his clan without needing to kill his brother. I think he could have improved himself, had he tried.

"Did Naruto brief you on the details of our mission?" Kakashi asked me. Though I knew the details already, I shook my head, for the sake of appearances.

Kakashi gave me a quick rundown of what was required of us, including giving me the bridge builder's name, Tazuna. I nodded absentmindedly, worried about the effect of my being in this world during important events. What if my going on this mission killed someone? I'd never be able to forgive myself for it.

What if I died? True, I had enhanced senses and I knew a few moves, but I could hardly compare to even a genin, unless I got that cold Instinct again. I wanted that to stay nice and hidden, though, only to be used as a last, last, _last_ resort, where everyone else was dead or heavily injured, and I was about to be struck down by Zabuza or some other equally dangerous enemy.

I doubted that would happen, though, considering Kakashi's skill and Squad Seven's capabilities, and several well-timed interventions. And though I made it sound like I was helpless, I really wasn't. Unconsciously, my hand came up and fingered the kunai, strung on a piece of twine, around my neck. Yes, it was the same kunai from so many weeks ago, when I had first come here. The one I'd use to cut Naruto free with, and had absentmindedly slipped into my pocket. I carried the thing around with me everywhere, and because I didn't want to throw it by accident along with the rest of the shiny new kunai I had in a holster strapped to my leg, I was wearing it around my neck, instead. I almost felt… safer, when I had it with me, like it could protect me just by being nearby. Weirdly enough, I sometimes got that feeling around Kakashi, too.

Automatically, I flicked a glance over at Kakashi, only to find that he had been looking at me, as well. We both looked away quickly, and I struggled with the blush that was rising to my cheeks. Snickers' chuckle echoed through my head, and when no one was looking, I sent her a quick glare.

There was a part of me, however, that was crowing triumphantly. _He likes me, he likes me! _This part of me was shouting. _Out of all of the women in the village who are probably much prettier than I am, and he likes me!_

_Oh, shut up, will you? _My reasonable side responded. Y_ou know that doesn't mean anything. We're trying to get back home as quickly and painlessly as possible, remember?_

_Of course I remember that. I am you, remember? _The first me retorted. _It just looks like we aren't getting out of here anytime soon, so why not enjoy it while we can?_

This revelation brought me up short. How long _would _it be until I got out of here? Every day that passed, KitKat was still trapped in my apartment, unable to get out and feed himself. Sure, he could chew a hole in the cat food and eat from there, but the bag wouldn't last forever. KitKat had always been a glutton.

And then there was the matter of my grades. Because I had been sucked into this world without warning, my professors in my college were probably thinking I had skipped out on them. Chances were good that I had an F in every class by now. That was going to hurt my chances of becoming a nurse big time.

Wow. Another shocking and weird thing about Emily Berretta. Yes, I wanted to be a nurse. I liked helping people, and ever since I was little, I had been bringing injured birds and squirrels into the RV, and bandaging them up. Once I brought in a little orange kitten with a broken leg, and we named him Cheezit. He stayed with us for a while, until one day we left the door to the RV open and he ran away. My sister and I cried for two days straight. It had been one of the worst days of our existence.

I wonder if I could have been able to talk to him, had my powers been working then.

Someone's hand brushed mine gently, and I looked up, startled. I had been staring gloomily at the ground while my thoughts had gone into a downward spiral, and now I was faced with Kakashi's single eye, which was filled with concern.

"You all right?" he asked quietly, his hand 'accidentally' brushing against mine again.

For some reason, I found myself smiling as I replied, "Never better."


	11. Chapter 11

*gives up* that's it. i'm changing the day i post this crap. . i apologize for the missed dates, and i hope that the new day will make things easier. i'll post it in an author's note what the new day is. :P  
oh, and this one's shorter than the others. sorry about that, too. . i couldn't find a good place to end it. XP  
hope you people likw it anyway!!

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We had been walking for about half an hour, and the sun was high in the sky. My feet were starting to hurt a little, and I'd begun to fervently wish that I could take off my bandanna and let sweaty head get some air. Plus, I was bored. After half an hour of seeing nothing but trees, you start to count them, to see how many there are between you and the Land of Waves. I shoved my hands deeper into my pockets and gave up after one hundred twenty-one. Stupid trees. Why wasn't there anything different?

"Mr. Tazuna?" came a small voice. Sakura. Still walking next to Sasuke, who had fallen back to Tazuna, Kakashi, and myself. Together, we formed a horizontal line of which Naruto was head.

"What is it?" the bridge builder replied gruffly, taking another swig out of his bottle. Apparently unaffected by the old man's grumpiness, Sakura asked her question anyway.

"Are there ninja in the Land of Waves?" she asked curiously. Here, Kakashi jumped in with his explanation about how no, the Land of Waves had natural defense, and therefore they didn't need ninja. The other gigantic lands needed them, though, and there were the ninja villages, and the Kages, and blah blah blah.

I tuned them out while my senses were on full alert, looking for something special. A certain puddle that we were about to walk by.

Seeing it, I felt a surge of adrenaline at the thought of the fight to come. Kakashi and I exchanged glances, and I moved away slowly, so as not to be caught with the Mist ninja's chains. I didn't know the Substitution Jutsu, unfortunately.

We were about twenty feet away from the puddle when they attacked. My ears picked them up as the chains whizzed towards Kakashi, and I reacted instinctively, jumping away so no harm could come to me. I had a kunai out of my holster before anyone else even realized something was happening; but I was having trouble keeping a hold on my cat Instincts.

I didn't know what would happen if anyone saw my powers, but I would prefer it if I kept this secret. Too much explaining to do, and I didn't want the clan that I had never known be discovered and hurt because of something I'd said.

The Kirigakure ninja pulled on the chains, and I squeezed my eyes shut so I wouldn't have to see the rain of gore falling down in front of us. Though I knew it was fake, some primal instinct in me reacted, and I lost my hold on the Instinct. My fingernails elongated into claws, and my canines grew and became sharp. I knew my eyes would have changed as well, and I didn't want to open them too widely, for fear of someone seeing them.

Cracking my eyes, I kept my mouth shut and looked out for the Mist Chunin. They were standing behind Naruto.

Something in me snapped, and I snarled, the cry sounding very predatory and catlike. Everyone seemed to freeze, with the exception of Sasuke, who was already in the air, and the attacking ninja, whom I doubted would stop for anything.

The kunai left my hand faster than I could think, and struck with perfect precision, hitting one of the brothers in the neck. He stumbled, giving Sasuke the perfect opportunity to nail their chain to the tree. I was about ready to go over there and tear their heads off myself. I was in the motion of leaping, when someone caught me around the waist.

Whirling around, I almost dug my claws into their eyes when I realized it was Kakashi. My fangs and claws retreated instantly, and my hand flew to my mouth in horror. Kakashi put a finger to his mask, signaling for me to be quiet, and then leaned down so that I could hear him over the rushing in my ears.

"We'll need to talk about this later," he said. I nodded. Straightening back up, Kakashi fixed my bandanna, which had begun to fall off, and winked at me before disappearing. There was the sound of someone having the wind knocked out of them, and I turned to find Kakashi, standing coolly with the two Hidden Mist Nins under his arms. Naruto and Sakura gasped in admiration, Sasuke looked pissed, and Tazuna just looked amazed to be alive.

"Hi." Kakashi said.

Somehow, I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

Kakashi turned to look at Naruto. "I'm sorry, Naruto." he said. "I should have moved in to help you sooner. I just didn't think you'd freeze up like that."

I winced, and Naruto looked ashamed. I could see the frustration in his eyes. Anger that Sasuke had upstaged him yet again, but also at himself, for freezing up. He was beating himself up right now, I could tell.

And then came the final blow. Sasuke turned back to look at Naruto. Smirking, he asked, "Are you okay… scaredy cat?"

Naruto growled, but Kakashi stopped him before he could reply.

"Naruto!" Kakashi called out to the boy. "There's no time now for fighting. Their claws are poisoned. We have to clean that wound as soon as possible."

The look of frustration on Naruto's face continued to grow as his sensei kept talking.

"If we cut it open more deeply, the blood flow will wash the poison away. For now, keep as still as possible, so the poison doesn't spread," Kakashi instructed.

Naruto did as he was told, but I could see his fury at himself was about to come to a boil. Standing apart from everyone else, the hyperactive ninja looked isolated and lonely. The look on his face was heartbreaking. I wanted to go to him, but I knew that doing so would probably mess up his big proclamation that I loved so much.

As Kakashi walked over to tie up the enemy ninja, he paused for a moment as he passed the bridge builder, who was still in a state of shock.

"Mr. Tazuna," Kakashi said, his voice sounding stern. Tazuna jumped and looked startled.

"Wha…what is it?" he asked, looking a little panicked. Kakashi turned slightly to look at their charge.

"I need to speak with you," he said, and walked off, leaving the old man to his thoughts. I followed Kakashi, and watched as he expertly tied up the Mist ninja, making sure their bonds were secure. Standing back, Kakashi examined the ninja for a moment before saying, "Our attackers appeared to be journeyman level ninja of the Kirigakure clan- Mist ninjas. They are shinobi renowned for their willingness to fight on until their goal is achieved, even at the cost of their own lives."

The two Mist Nins glared sullenly at the Leaf shinobi and the bridge builder they were assigned to protect.

"Obviously, they were watching and waiting for us," one of the attackers muttered to the other.

Kakashi answered as though he was the one who had been spoken to. "The sun is out, and it hasn't rained for several days, so there shouldn't have been any puddles on the ground…" he said.

Tazuna looked annoyed. "Well, if you knew all that, why did you let those creeps even attack you?" he asked, clearly not happy with the unnecessary scare.

"I could have killed them at any time…" Kakashi said, his voice becoming shifty as he darted a glance at Tazuna's face. "But… I wanted to find out who their real target was."

Tazuna looked confused. "What do you mean by that?" he asked. I could scent his oncoming panic, his fear at being discovered by us. It left a bitter taste at the back of my throat, and I sneezed and rubbed my nose, trying to rid myself of the stench. Fear smells grosser that you would think.

Kakashi cocked his head to the side, considering. Despite the supposed seriousness of the situation, the gesture really was quite cute.

_Hey, none of that, you, _Snickers reminded me. I jumped visibly and looked down at her. Kneeling down to scratch her back, I murmured quietly, "Where the hell were you?"

_Hiding in the bushes, _Snickers replied simply. I had to hold back a snort of laughter at this, and Snickers looked indignant.

_I told you, I'm not a fighter. I'm here to offer wisdom and guidance, and to disappear and leave the fighting to you. _Snickers sat down, curling her tail around her paws, and examined the claws on one foot. The gesture was so humanoid in nature that I actually gaped at my cat as she did it.

Snickers noticed my stare and put her paw down. _What? _She asked, sounding genuinely confused. I just shook my head and straightened up, murmuring quietly so that the others didn't hear, "Never mind. I'll tell you later."

Kakashi was now looking conflicted, looking between Tazuna and Naruto, who seemed near bursting point. "This is complicated!" he proclaimed, still unsure. "Do we go back now to make certain Naruto receives medical attention? Or-"

Whatever Kakashi had been about to say next was cut off as Naruto stabbed the kunai into his hand. Everyone froze up in shock, staring with a horrified fascination as fresh blood dripped from the wound and onto the ground.

"Why am I always so different!" Naruto growled angrily. "I hate not fitting in!"

Sakura was the first to come out of her stupor, shouting at Naruto, "Naruto, what are you-? No, stop that!"

Naruto ignored her, speaking through gritted teeth. "By now, I should be really strong!" My heart went out to him. I wanted to just wrap my arms around the boy and squeeze him until he realized that being strong didn't mean training all by yourself. I restrained myself, though, knowing he had more to say.

"Even though I've been doing tons of extra training on my own, trying to build my skills, I blew it, somehow…" Naruto said. Still, no one moved to stop him. "I swear, no one's ever gonna have to save my life again… I'm not going to be the one who hangs back or freezes up, and I'm not gonna be outdone by Sasuke!"

At this, a small smirk passed across Sasuke's features, and I knew his challenge had been accepted.

Out of everyone here, I was the calmest one about this, probably because I knew what was going to come next. Plus, instead of being frightened or scared for Naruto, I was…proud. Somehow, I felt that being here, becoming friends with Naruto and feeling my fondness for him grow a little more every day, made me like the older sister the orphan boy had never known. I was there to praise his achievements and encourage him when he fell, and to be a helping hand when he had no one else to turn to. I felt like I was looking after my sister all over again, when I had been the strong one, and she, the sweet, gentle younger, turned to me with her problems.

Of course, I'd forgotten that Naruto wasn't done yet. "I swear it, by the pain in my left hand… with kunai knife, I will protect the old man!" Naruto let out a short huff of laughter. "Reporting fit for duty, sensei!" he called, raising the hand with the blade stuck in it slightly.

For some reason, I found myself almost cackling with delight as I ran over to where Naruto was standing. Taking his hand gently, I examined the depth and location of the wound with a practiced eye.

"Deeper than I thought…" I muttered to myself, waiting for Kakashi to bring bandages, since I had none. Yeah, nurse in training has no bandages. Oh, the irony.

I grinned at Naruto suddenly. "You sure showed them, eh?" I said, gently removing the kunai in one smooth pull. Naruto winced, but still grinned back as he responded, "You bet I did! Now no one can doubt me ever again!"

Something about the orange-clad kid made me want to smile until my face was stuck that way. I wasn't sure what it was. His optimistic attitude? His determination? Whatever it was, I felt like my face was going to split in two as I retorted, "Just for the record, I never doubted you from the beginning."

Naruto's expression turned wondering, and he stared at me in surprise. I just winked and took the bandages that Kakashi was holding next to me.


	12. Author's Note of Randomness!

Alright, so this is the author's note I kinda should've written a while ago. . I know I'm lazy. Anyway, I'm telling you all now that **the new publishing day shall be Tuesday. **This works out better for me, because I'm usually busy the rest of the week and so miss the day that I have set up for myself. Again, the new day is Tuesday.

Thanks for dealing with my laziness! XD


	13. Chapter 12

*scratches head* i have no clue how this works...last chapters all had 3 to 4 thousand words, and now there's this dinky little thing...sorry about that. XP you never notice when you make the font super-huge so you can read it while sitting on your bed. XD enjoy anyway? i hope you do. :D

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"Naruto, we needed a free flow of blood to clean the poison from your wound…" Kakashi said, examining the gash as I deftly bandaged the hand. "But you've exceeded the need. You could bleed to death. I'm serious." He grinned, enjoying the look of panic on Naruto's face as the boy started to squirm in place while I tried to finish the binding.

"No! No way am I gonna die like this!" Naruto cried, looking anxious as I paused in my wrappings. Underneath all the extra blood, the gash was slowly healing. In fact, it seemed to get a little smaller as I watched it.

Wow. And I thought my healing powers were something to see. This was almost ridiculous.

I exchanged a quick glance with Kakashi, knowing he had seen the state of the wound as well. Naruto looked between the two of us worriedly.

"I'm gonna be alright, right?" he asked, beginning to fidget again. "I mean… you know…"

I grinned at him and quickly tied off the bandage. "Don't worry. You'll be fine," I told him, straightening up and ruffling his hair.

Secretly, I let a breath out slowly through my nostrils, and then another. My nose was clogged with the scent of blood, for having been so near it for a while. While not entirely unpleasant, it carried the tang of metal that I would expect, seeing as it tasted like it, too. However, smelling the blood brought to mind images of lions taking down a piece of succulent, juicy prey in the harsh heat of the Savannah. For some reason, the image was mouthwatering…

I shook my head to remove the images from my mind, but to no avail. My stomach growled, and I quietly growled back at it. Why did I have to have weird cat-hunger cravings now? It wasn't a good sign.

"Master…Mr. Sensei, sir…" Tazuna said suddenly, looking weary. All eyes turned to him, and he continued, "I…I have something I need to say…" Kakashi nodded for him to go on.

"Uh, there's something you should know…about the request for help I made to your village." Tazuna said. Kakashi looked unsurprised at these words. Instead he waited silently until the bridge builder continued.

"As you guessed, this job is more dangerous than you and your students were led to believe. There's a real scary man who wants to see me dead," Tazuna said. Through my nostrils I could scent his worry, though his face remained serious. Probably thought that we were going to leave him to be killed by Gato and his goons. Fat chance of that happening.

"A 'real scary' man?" Kakashi repeated, an eyebrow raised. "Who is he?"

Tazuna sighed. "You've probably heard of him," he said. "He's a billionaire in the field of marine transportation, and his name is Gato."

Kakashi looked actually surprised at this. "You mean Gato of Gato Shipping and Transport? _The _Gato? They say he's the richest man in the world!" he said.

Tazuna nodded. "That's the one. On the surface, he looks like a legitimate businessman. The truth is he's a ruthless, murdering criminal who employs gangs and teams of shinobi, and trafficks in drugs and contraband. He starts out taking over businesses…" Tazuna paused ominously. "and ends up running entire countries."

_You don't seem very surprised by all of this, _Snickers commented, watching the scene unfold before us. I shook my head slowly and sat down on the ground, pretending to scratch at the dirt with my fingernails aimlessly, when in actuality I was writing a message to Snickers.

**No. Read about it already. I know everything that will happen here.**

Snickers looked surprised, before understanding crossed her features. _Oh yes, of course, _she said. _I'd forgotten about that silly writer boy from this world. Acting as though this world, the one he was born in, wasn't real! _She snorted derisively.

I shot her a confused look. **?**

Snickers just shook her head, passing it off as needing to scratch her ear. _Nevermind that. It's hardly important now._

_Like hell it is, _I wanted to say, but just as I was about to, Kakashi looked over at me and informed me that we were ready to keep moving. Cursing my luck, I jumped up and hurried over to join the rest of the group, shooting Snickers a 'we'll talk about this later' look that she merely sneezed at.

"Wooww!" Naruto exclaimed as we passed under a tunnel and into the harbor beyond. We'd been traveling by boat for a good half an hour, and I was happy to be able to put my feet on solid land again.

Stretching, I turned and watched Tazuna thank the man who'd brought us here, and saw him quickly motor away from us. I took a nervous breath. Soon, it would begin. The first battle between Squad Seven and Zabuza the Demon.

Oh boy. I was gonna have a hell of a time with this one.

As we moved farther away from the docks, the mist that had been covering the water and the surrounding area faded, and I could once again see where we were going. We were in a wooded area, and Naruto kept glancing around suspiciously, alert for any sound or movement.

I smelled it before I heard it. A kind of meaty, juicy smell that I'd never encountered before. Snickers smelled it too, and took in a deep breath appreciatively. _Ah, the wonderful scent of rabbit, _she said. _Gets my mouth watering every time._

As soon as she said it, the bushes to our left rustled, and Naruto whirled at the sound.

"Over there!" he shouted, and threw a kunai. It thunked into a tree trunk harmlessly, but I could somehow tell that the rabbit had gotten away in time. It was thanks to the amazing nose that I now possessed, I suppose.

Everyone was silent for a moment, waiting for a reaction. Nothing.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, looking embarrassed. "Guess it was only a mouse…" he muttered, before Sakura began to chew him out.

"What mouse?! Are you out of your mind! There was nothing there, you moron!" she shouted at him, pointing an accusing finger at the offending blonde.

Kakashi raised his hands beseechingly. "Please don't play with your shuriken," he said, looking a tad panicked. "They can be just a teensy bit dangerous!"

Tazuna expressed his feelings in a rather… different, manner.

"Hey, midget!" the old man shouted, clearly as frightened as the rest of the team. "Don't go scaring us like that! Stop messing with our heads!"

Naruto was ignoring all of them, of course. He was too busy scanning the area, making sure that the big bad Sasuke wouldn't outdo him by standing there, looking unimpressed. Couldn't have that, now could we?

Suddenly, there was a rustle in the bushes that went unnoticed by most of the group, with the exception of Kakashi, Naruto, and myself. One sniff told me that it was the rabbit again, but before I could mention this useful fact to the team, Naruto had chucked a kunai at the spot and effectively scared the living hell out of an innocent animal that was our bait.

Sakura punched Naruto, obviously pissed. "I told you to quit it!" she shouted, glaring at the blonde, who was rubbing his head and groaning. I grinned.

"Ah, young love…" I commented to Snickers, pretending that I was talking to the group in general. She chuckled in agreement as she watched the two bicker. _Those who fight the most are often the ones who end up together. Strange, isn't it? _

I nodded slowly, watching as Kakashi moved over to examine the place that Naruto's kunai had landed in. He discovered the rabbit, shaking in terror with the kunai embedded in the tree trunk just inches above its head. Seeing it, Sakura let out a gasp of sympathy before turning her fiery orbs of doom to Naruto.

"Look what you did!" she shouted, in typical Sakura fashion, while Naruto scooped up the terrified animal and attempted to revive it.

"I'm sorry, little bunny!" he cried to it, hugging to close to him. "Please wake up!"  
As Naruto continued his repeated apologies, I turned my gaze to Kakashi. I could almost see the gears turning in his head as he figured through the issue of the out-of-place rabbit. I felt a sudden surge of adrenaline as I realized that the first fight with Zabuza would be happening soon. My hands began to tremble, and I clenched them into fists. Leaning down slowly, I petted Snickers' back and whispered to her, "Run. Trouble's coming, soon."

At that same moment, Kakashi shouted, "Everyone! Take cover!"

I ducked more out of instinct than a response to his words, and felt the rush of air as Zabuza's blade passed mere inches over my head. I shivered, a knot of fear twisting in my stomach at the thought that I could have died just then. My vision blurred, and I felt faint.

It was at this moment that my Instinct took over. It rushed over me, a cool wave of calm coming with it. The trembling in my hands stopped, and my brain cleared.

Once again, the nature of my Instinct had changed. It wasn't the anger of before, nor the warm friendliness I had been able to call up at will. Instead, it came with the same level-headedness and calm of an experienced soldier going into battle. My fear hadn't diminished at all, but it now felt as though I could handle it, and I felt more confident in my skills, lacking though they were. If I put my trust in my Instinct and kept out of the way of the more dangerous fighting, I should be fine. Kakashi would make sure of that, at the very least.

I straightened and looked at the man standing on his sword, which was stuck in the tree. The part of my mind that was still spitting wise-ass comments thought that he probably threw the sword like that just so he could make a cool entrance, but I ignored it.

"Well, well. If it isn't Momochi Zabuza, the kid who ran off and left the Land of The Mist!" Kakashi commented, hands in his pockets once more. I envied him for his calm appearance. I probably looked like a psychopath, with my eyes wide and my slitted pupils dilated, my fanged teeth bared slightly in a snarl. I felt more cat than human at this point, despite the calming influence of my Instinct.

Naruto started forward, ready to take on Zabuza himself, but Kakashi stopped him with a hand barring his way.

"Don't interfere," he said, not taking is eyes off of the man on the sword. "Give me room. This is on a different plane from our previous opponents." Kakashi began to reach for his headband.

"If I have to face him, it had better be like this," he said. "This may be a little rough."


	14. Chapter 13

*heavy sigh* i fail at life...this is probably the shortest thing i've ever written on here... but i needed to end it now, cause i wanted to leave you in some suspense... *evil laugh* anyway, i'll see if i can make the next chapter longer, to make up for it. :D  
oh, and sory if the dialouge is super crappy. i'm getting it from an online manga reader, so i can't be sure of the accuracy. XP i tried to smooth it out, but it's still kinda choppy. so yeah, sorry about that.  
anyway, enjoy!

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Zabuza chuckled humorlessly. "Kakashi of the Sharingan eye, I presume?" he asked. "If it wouldn't be too much trouble, could you surrender the old man?"

Kakashi didn't respond, staring coolly at his enemy, his hand stilled by Zabuza's words. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Naruto's confusion, having never encountered the Sharingan before. I also saw Sasuke's shock and puzzlement at hearing about the eye.

These were minor things, though, recorded and stored away in the back of my mind for later. The greatest part of my attention was focused totally on Zabuza, watching for slight shifts in movement that would suggest when he was about to strike. My body was tensed to spring, ready for the moment when the fight would begin. Snickers had disappeared somewhere, probably hiding in the bushes, like I'd asked her to. That was good; it meant I wouldn't have to look out for her once things got dangerous.

"Surround and protect Tazuna," Kakashi said, not taking his eyes from Zabuza. "Do not enter the fight. That's the teamwork here."

The three genin did as they were told, and I moved to stand beside the old man, though not close enough to be an actual part of the formation, because I really had to clue as to how I would help. I'd probably do more harm than good, truthfully.

"Zabuza, first…" Kakashi said, finally pulling up his mask and revealing the Sharingan concealed beneath. "You need to fight me."

An expression of shock crossed Naruto's face as he saw it, but I was too busy studying the eye to really pay attention.

It was beautiful as I thought it would be. The red eye sparkled in the daylight, the black pupils sharply contracting the gorgeous ruby color of the iris. It was like its own precious stone, hard and glittering. Kakashi saw my stare, and I smelled the slightest hint of amusement from him before his face beame serious again, ready to face down Zabuza.

Said man was decidedly unimpressed by the whole show, and commented with a hint of sarcasm, "Ah, I already get to see the famous Sharingan. I'm honored."

"Sharingan?" Naruto repeated, sounding irritated for not having a clue what that was. "What the hell is that?"

I answered almost automatically, the main part of my focus still on Zabuza. "Uchiha Clan Kekkei Genkai. Allows the user to see and predict the movements of his opponent, then copy his jutsu and use it against him."

Everyone, including Kakashi, looked at me blankly. I looked up and realized what I'd just said. _Whoops. From a different country, remember, baka? _I smacked myself mentally. That was going to come back later and bite me on the ass, I just knew it.

For now, I'd just cover and hope for the best. "What?" I protested, putting on an offended look. "The massacre of the Uchiha Clan is a huge event, so naturally I'd hear about it, right? And I got curious, so I did a little research. Satisfy you all?" I raised my eyebrows questioningly, mentally applauding myself for coming up with that so quickly. _I think I deserve a mental cupcake for that…but the big scary man on the sword is talking, so I should probably listen. _

Indeed, Zabuza was talking. In fact, his topic of choice just happened to be me.

"Despite her method of discovery, the girl is right," he said. I frowned, not happy about the way I was being addressed.

"Excuse me, but I'm probably the same age as you, thank you very much," I retorted hotly, before realizing that being snippy would probably get me killed faster. Damn. Wish I'd remembered that sooner.

Luckily, Zabuza seemed unfazed by my snappiness. He actually laughed, which sent a shiver down my spine, as much as I respected the guy later in the series.

"When I was a member of the Hidden Mist's assassin team, we were all given a bingo book, a sort of who's who of ninja," he said, seeming to enjoy talking excessively, which was a bad habit of all the _Naruto _characters. "It had quite the extensive write-up on you. Kakashi Hatake, the Copy Ninja…the man who's copied over a thousand jutsu."

Kakashi didn't let anything show in his eyes, but I could see he was tense, waiting for the moment when Zabuza would strike. I was waiting for that too, even though I knew it was coming up soon.

Confusion flickered across Sakura's face as she contemplated the possibility of there actually being someone more amazing than Sasuke. I snorted quietly, though I knew that wasn't really what she was thinking. Sure did seem like it, though.

Sasuke, on the other hand, was busy trying to figure out why Kakashi had a Sharingan eye when he was clearly not a part of the Uchiha Clan. I snickered to myself. _You'll never figure it out… _the evil part of my brain sang gleefully. Hell, I hardly knew myself. I just knew that the eye was from Obito. I didn't know why or how it got there.

"Now…" Zabuza said, pausing for a moment. "Let's end the talking." I tensed. "I have to kill that old man."

Shock registered on Tazuna's face, and his heart rate jumped painfully. My own blood was rushing in my head, and I was alert for the slightest movement.

Of course, Zabuza wasn't quite finished yet. "But, Kakashi!" he said. "It seems I have to beat you first."

Finally, everything was abruptly thrown into motion.

In a blur of movement, Zabuza ripped his sword from the tree trunk and disappeared, reappearing in the middle of the lake in front of us. Water swirled around him as he made a hand sign, the mist already starting to converge.

The genin and the old man gasped, but I bit my lip so hard I drew blood. Getting so close…

"Hidden Mist no Justu," Zabuza said, and faded away.

Oh shit.

My tail bristled, and my eyes darted around, looking for him in the suddenly thick mist that enveloped us. My brain told me that it was useless, but my body ignored it, still on alert.

"He'll come after me first," Kakashi said, staring into the mist directly in front of him. "As a member of the Hidden Mist, Momochi Zabuza was known as an expert in silent killing. You don't even notice until you're already dead…" I shivered.

"It's not like I can use the Sharingan perfectly. You guys be careful," Kakashi went on, and I saw him flick a quick glance in my direction out of the corner of my eye. Everyone fell silent, waiting the moment when Zabuza would strike.

"This mist is getting thicker!" Naruto shouted, looking around. I saw that it was true. I could hardly see Kakashi in front of us, even with my enhanced vision.

Suddenly, Zabuza's voice floated out of the mist. "Eight choices…kidneys, heart, liver, lungs, spine, clavicle vein, neck vein, brain. Which should I choose?" The hairs on the back of my neck rose, and I shivered involuntarily. I took a quick glance over at Sasuke to find him trembling uncontrollably, bound by fear of Zabuza's jutsu.

Suddenly, Kakashi spoke. "Sasuke, calm down. I'll protect you guys even if it kills me." Sasuke paused and stared at Kakashi.

"I'll never let my comrades die!" He punctuated the words with a smile through his mask, and I felt a momentary sense of relief at the now-famous statement.

"We'll see about that!" Zabuza said, and appeared right beside us.

Before I knew what was happening, I was leaping backward through the air, my bandanna falling off my head, letting my hair stream out behind me. I twisted in the air, placing my paws exactly where they needed to be, and I hit the ground in a crouch, ready to leap into action.

Suddenly, I realized something was off. Everything was too big, and everyone was staring…

I looked down at myself.

"What the hell?!"


	15. Chapter 14

*ahem* **IM BACK, BABY!!!!!!  
**oh yeah, you love it. ;D  
HI!!! SORRY!!! I LOVE YOU, REALLY!!! WILL YOU MARRY ME?  
okay, not the last one. but the first three are true!!! im back now, and i decided to throw this (stupidly short, and i apologize for that) chapter out here just to let you guys know that i AM working on getting back into business. it's gonna be slow going, though; i dont have any chapters saved up before this. XP  
so yeah. im sorry, once again, that its so short, but i hope you like it anyhow!

* * *

I swore really, really loudly in English, and saw everyone wince as though they'd actually understood me.

"Snickers! _Snickers, get your furry ass out here!_" I screeched, tail lashing from side to side.

For once she listened to me. The Siamese cat came streaking out of the bushes, blue eyes wide as she skidded to a stop in front of me.

"Why am I a fucking cat?!" I demanded, still in English. For really, that's what I was. A cream-colored, domestic house cat. And I didn't like it one bit.

Snickers looked shellshocked, which was probably not a good thing, considering she was supposed to be the one with all the answers. She shook her head slowly, as though trying to clear it.

"I…don't know. This isn't supposed to happen for a while yet, and certainly not without any training…" she muttered to herself. I growled.

"Not answering any of my questions, Snickers!" I snapped.

Snickers and I both looked up abruptly at the sound of a chuckle from behind us. Zabuza was laughing and clapping slowly.

"Quite a show. You've got yourself quite a talented group of preformers, Kakashi!" he called out. I bristled, and Snickers shot me a look that clearly said _Don't do anything stupid._

Zabuza casually hoisted his sword over one shoulder, and in the next instant, he was standing beside us.

"I'll just take this one for safekeeping," he said, grabbing me by the scruff and lifting me into the air. Snarling and yowling, I twisted and writhed in his grip, managing to sink my teeth into his hand at least once.

Swearing under his breath, Zabuza dropped me as Kakashi appeared in front of him, kunai pressed to his throat. "Emily, take cover!" he shouted to me.

I ran towards the nearest bushes without looking back, and heard the sounds of further battle behind me. I didn't stop running, though, until I found a suitable tree and had climbed it up as far as I could. There I sat, trembling all over and watching blankly as Zabuza and Kakashi exchanged more blows, and the battle continued on.

Snickers leaped up beside me and sat down, mostly composed. "Well, then," she said. "Perhaps we need to work on getting you back to normal, hmm?"

Nodding shakily, I scrabbled down the trunk of the tree as Snickers gracefully leaped to the bottom and turned to watch me. "We need to work on your tree climbing skills, too," she commented as I fell the last few feet and landed sprawled on the ground.

Staggering to my feet, I shook my head irritably and gave my chest a few quick licks, unconsciously. "Alright, c'mon, let's go," I muttered. Snickers shook her head, amused, and beckoned me to follow her with a flick of the tail.

As I followed her chocolate-and-cream colored body disappearing into the woods ahead of me, I took a moment to marvel at the changes being transformed into a cat had wrought on me.

For one, everything was really big. The bushes were at least twice my height, and the trees were mamoth beings, towering over me with silent watchfulness. My sight, surprisingly, was still in color, but I credited that to my being part human still. Everything was clearer than it was before, and the shadows were lessened. My ears were twitching in every possible direction on my head, and though I was used to that, I was unused to the abrupt changes in hearing that each movement brought. I'd still been relying mostly on my human ears for hearing, letting the cat ones do as they pleased. Now, though, I had to force them to face forward, but with every new sound they twitched back in a new direction again. It was getting to be really distracting.

Finally, we reached a small clearing ringed entirely by a wall of bushes. The sounds of battle had quieted, so I assumed we were at another one of those parts where people spend too much time thinking to themselves and have a lot of flashbacks. It really was a wonder the story got anywhere, with the time people spent just sitting around thinking.

Snickers padded to the center of the clearing and sat down, curling her tail around her legs.

"Come, sit," she said. I obediently sat down in front of her, my tail flicking around my feet.

"Okay, so how do we do this? Say a few magic words and pow, I'm me again?" I asked, slightly impatient. I didn't want to miss any more of the fight, though I doubted I could really do anything to help. And besides, it might actually be a good thing that I stayed away. I didn't want to change anything and get someone killed accidentally.

Snickers rolled her eyes, which is really weird to see a cat doing. Have I ever mentioned that?

"Have patience, you silly kitten. To return to your human form you have to calm yourself, mentally and physically. Clear your mind, relax your body, let all troubles float free from your mind. The more you do it, the easier it becomes. Go on, try it."

I sighed, but did as she told me. I didn't really wanna be a cat when that flood came and swiped Zabuza into a tree.

I tried to relax and clear my mind. Slow, deep breaths, think of clouds, a nice peaceful forest…

Someone was shouting in the distance. It sounded like Kakashi.

Leaping to my feet, tail bristling, I turned toward the sound and was about to go dashing off into the woods when Snickers leaped in front of me, snarling. Her fur was standing on end, and her claws were extended.

"_Do not go there!_" she hissed, teeth bared. My ears laid back flat along my skull, and I hissed back at her.

"Don't try to tell me what I can and can't do! I have to help them, I cant just sit here practicing meditation!" My fur was puffed out at this point, and my claws ached to rip a chunk of fur out of her coat. I could feel my Instinct shifting at the back of my mind, roused by my anger.

Snickers snarled again and leapt at me. I tried to defend myself, but it was clear she was the better fighter.

In moments I was pinned on the ground, a paw planted firmly on my chest. Snickers stared down at me, her tail lashing.

"Now, open your ears and _listen to me_," she hissed. I struggled, but I was greatly outmatched and was forced to lie still, though I glared up at her with all the venom I could muster.

Snickers ignored my looks and continued to speak as though nothing had happened. "You cannot go out to help your gray-haired mate, because not only are you not trained in the specialized Neko-Ninnin fighting styles, but you aren't trained for anything at all. Plus, you are the size of a domestic house cat. There is nothing you can do to help them. Do you understand me?" she asked, looking at me sharply.

I considered trying to escape again for a moment, but then Snickers' words sank in, and I sighed, realizing that she was right. I was simply too weak to be of help to anyone.

The thought made me angry, and I narrowed my eyes up at Snickers. "All right, fine. I get it, now get off of me," I snapped.

Snickers paused for a moment, then took her paw off of my chest. Stepping back a few paces, she allowed me to get up on my own and shake myself off. Overcome by a powerful urge to clean myself, I began to lick at my coat, smoothing it out and removing bits of sticks and grass I found in it.

Snickers purred in amusement, and I realized that she was being much more vocal now that I was a cat, too. Perhaps the link didn't work once we were both cats?

I was reluctant to ask a question and make a further fool of myself after such a recent ass-kicking, but curiosity got the better of me.

"So, does that freaky mental-link thingy still work when I'm a cat, too?" I asked, standing up and shaking myself, at last satisfied that my coat was nice and shiny again.

Snickers' whiskers twitched, and her voice spoke into my mind. _Yes. You are Neko-Ninnin, you will always be able to communicate through telepathic link with members of our clan. Why?_

I did what was the cat equivalent of a shrug, a kind of twitching of the skin around my shoulders. "Because," I answered aloud, "I was just wondering why you stopped doing it once I became a cat."

Snickers paused and looked at me, and I could see something like approval in her eyes.

"Yes, good observation. You see, now that you have taken your cat form, also known as the Neko Stage, you are able to hear and understand any feline that speaks to you. When in your traditional form as a human, the Ninnin Stage, you can only speak to felines through telepathy, and then only cats of the Neko-Ninnin clan. Do you understand?"

I nodded. "You know," I said suddenly. "This is actually pretty cool, once you get used to it."

Snickers purred and flicked her tail, which I took as agreement. "You don't know the half of it," she said, winking at me.

I opened my mouth to say something, but Snickers was already turned away from me. Backing up a few steps, she eyeballed the tree in front of her, crouched down and wiggled her hindquarters, then rushed forward, bounding up the trunk and into the lower branches with ease.

I checked to make sure my jaw wasn't hanging on the floor anymore, and trotted over to the base of the trunk, craning my neck to see up into the branches where Snickers was perched. She was easily balanced on one of the thicker trunks, and was facing the direction that I knew the battle between Zabuza and Kakashi's team was taking place.

"If I told you what was happening now, could you figure out how much longer the battle will go on?" she asked suddenly.

I paused, thinking. I hadn't dramatically changed the course of the battle, so anything she told me would most likely be the same as the manga. I nodded.

"Sure, go ahead," I told her, thinking back to the Zabuza arc and when I'd first read it. Chances were we were around the part where Kakashi gets caught in Zabuza's water prison, and Naruto thinks up his little plan to get him out…

"Your mate and the other one are fighting on the lake, with huge dragons made out of water," Snickers reported. I blinked. That was farther along than I had expected.

"They're evenly matched," my cat continued. "And…" she trailed off.

Feeling slightly concerned, I called up the tree. "Snickers? Are you okay?"

She didn't respond. She was staring fixedly at whatever was in front of her, her fur bristling and her body tense. Slowly, the meaning of what Snickers had reported to me began to sink in. Water dragons, Kakashi and Zabuza fighting on the water…

The wave.

"Climb!" I screeched suddenly, fear lending me speed as I suddenly learned how to climb a tree for the second time that day. Snickers shook herself out of her stupor and began to follow behind me, her eyes wide and panicked.

We reached the top of the tree and clung to its branches, staring at the scene before us.

The wave was in motion, and it was headed right for us.


	16. Chapter 15

cool! over 4000 words even without the intro! :D alright, here ya go! i've got one more chapter in reserve after this, and i REALLY want you guys to see it... ;D  
anyway, thanks for reading and coming back after i started writing again! :D

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Things seemed to happen in slow motion after that. I could feel my Instincts flare into panic mode, but even with a sharpened mind, I could see my only option was to cling to the tree and hope I wasn't swept away by the massive wall of water speeding towards us.

I thought Snickers was saying something to me, but everything was blocked out by the roar of water as it rapidly approached. And then…it hit.

You know how when you stand in a current of fast moving water, you can feel it tugging on you, trying to take you along with it? Well, imagine that, but ten times worse, and you're about the size of one of those little pebbles you see being bounced around and carried away by the water. That's basically what it felt like once that water hit us.

I couldn't see, I couldn't hear, I couldn't even breathe. The water was freezing, and I kept being knocked into bits of derbis that had also been swept away by the sheer force of the justu Kakashi had unleashed.

My lungs were screaming for air, but even if I had the power to fight my way to the surface, I had been banged around so much I didn't even know up from down. I'd completely lost Snickers, as well, and I was beginning to think that I might not survive this ordeal.

Strangely, the thought wasn't as terrifying as I thought it would be. In fact, the longer I went without air, the more appealing death sounded. How easy it would be, to just let go, and simply float away, like a pebble in the current…

Some small piece of me screamed for me to stay awake, but the pull was too strong. As I finally slipped into the darkness, I was aware of a strange stretching feeling in my body. My last sight was of a bright light above me, and the silhouette of a man, cradling me in his arms.

The next time I thought, it was because I was hungry. _Really _hungry.

I tried to speak, but all that came out was a low growl. The talking that I hadn't noticed had been there before stopped, and I heard someone moving close by.

"Emily?" My name was a hopeful whisper, a man's voice, and I immediately identified it.

Cracking my eyes was definitely a bad idea, and I nearly smacked myself in the face, trying to block the extremely bright light that streamed in through my eyelashes.

Kakashi chuckled, and his voice sounded relieved. Taking a quick sniff, I realized his scent did, too. In fact, relief radiated from him in waves, and it told me more than any questions would have.

Mildly surprised at my once again enhanced senses, I tried to lick my lips, but my tongue was as dry as the desert.

"Water?" I managed to croak. A younger voice snickered, and was silenced by the definite _thunk_ of someone hitting him in the head.

"Oww! Sakura, what was that for?" the voice demanded, confirming my suspicion that the snickerer was indeed Naruto.

"Shut up, block head! She's been unconscious for two days! This is no time to laugh!" Sakura hissed, her high-pitched voice matching the irritated scent that wafted off of her.

I took a deeper breath, trying to scent out Sasuke, as well. At first I couldn't find anything, but then I got the faintest traces of his personal scent, underneath the overpowering smell of water. He wasn't here now, that was for sure.

In fact, everything smelled like water. Someone handed a cup to me, and helped me sit up. Now out of danger from being his directly in the eyes with the blinding light, I opened my eyes a little more and took a look around.

Of course. We were at Tazuna's house. After the Zabuza battle, the gang headed over to his house and were taken care of by his daughter and his grandson, Inari. Sipping my water, I pondered why Sasuke wouldn't be here. Oh, right. That whole tree training thing. After Kakashi showed them how to do it, Naruto and Sasuke were at it for hours…

Kakashi.

I simultaneously remembered two things at once. One was that I smelled like water because I'd spent who knows how long being bashed around in a torrent of it. And the second, and more important, was that after Zabuza was taken away by Haku, Kakashi had collapsed from exhaustion and could hardly move for days.

My head snapped up, and my eyes landed on a single smiling gray eye and a mass of spiky silver hair to match.

Not caring who was watching, I threw my arms around Kakashi, taking him by surprise.

Hugging him fiercely, I whispered in his ear, "I was worried about you."

Now that I was more alert, I could almost feel Kakashi's exhaustion, but it was briefly drowned out by a rush of happiness as he chuckled and whispered back, "I think I was more worried about you."

Someone coughed uncomfortably, and I released Kakashi hurriedly, my cheeks burning. He seemed slightly embarrassed as well, and there was an amused chuckle from behind me.

_Hmm…I never realized that being close to death was a way to change back into the Ninnin Stage, _Snickers commented offhandedly.

Gasping delightedly, I whirled around to find her sitting behind me, her coat a little duller than usual but looking none the worse for wear.

Picking her up, I hugged her to me tightly. "Snickers! I thought…I thought…" I fumbled, unable to speak the words.

Her laugh tinkled through my mind again. _No, I'm not dead, _she said good-naturedly. _But I'm very bruised, so it would be nice if you would please set me down again._

"Ah, sorry." I gingerly placed my cat back on the floor, and she promptly curled up next to my pillow. _If you need me for anything, just let me know, _she said, cracking an eyelid to look at me. _Until then, I'm going to continue to nap. _And with that, she dropped back off to sleep.

Laughing to myself, I turned back to find the occupants of the room- Naruto, Sakura, Tazuna, and Inari- giving me odd looks. Only Kakashi was unaffected, having seen me apparently talk to my cat before.

"Um, hi," I said, giving them a little wave.

They just kept on looking, but Naruto ventured to ask a question.

"Were you talking to your cat just now?" he asked curiously, his head tilted to the side. I sweatdropped -jeez, I felt more like an anime character with every passing day- and nodded.

"Uh, yes. Why I am talking to my cat is kind of a long story, so can we wait until I stop smelling like a river?" I asked.

Sakura wrinkled her nose. "A river? How can anyone smell like _water_?" she asked.

Ah, shit. I was making this more difficult. I grinned at her sheepishly.

"Just something else to explain later, mmkay? Now, has Kakashi done that tree-climbing thing with you?" I asked them. I wanted to get a better idea of how long I'd really been out, and how long we had to go until the final battle between Squad 7 and Zabuza.

The idea of the battle ahead sent shivers down my spine, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kakashi glance at me sharply. If I didn't know any better, I'd have sworn he was a Neko-Ninnin as well, with his heightened senses of perception.

Sakura interrupted my train of thought with a question of her own. "How did you know we were doing the tree-climbing training? You were unconscious when Kakashi-sensei showed us it…" she said, puzzled.

I panicked. I was always a horrible liar when I needed to lie on the spot, and so I blanked out and stared at her, my mouth opening and closing like a fish.

Luckily, Kakashi was there to my rescue. "We were talking about it on the trip over here," he cut in smoothly. I blinked at him gratefully, and I could see his smile through his mask.

Sakura seemed to accept this answer, and I looked at Naruto curiously.

"Why aren't you- er, you two out training, then?" I asked, managing to cover myself this time.

Sakura smiled proudly. "Kakashi-sensei said that I was good enough that I didn't have to train as much as they did," she said, pointing at Naruto. Naruto folded his arms and stuck his tongue out at her, and she readied her fist to punch him again.

Kakashi held up his hands, trying to pacify the two bickering genin.

"Come now, Sakura. At least let Naruto answer Emily's question before you hit him again," he said. I rolled my eyes. Not the best way to solve the problem, but it was a temporary solution.

Sakura sighed, but unclenched her fist, and sat down primly on the floor, staring Naruto down with a glare that would have made a lesser man faint. I suddenly felt bad for the man she married, until a picture of Sasuke flashed through my mind. In that case, I decided, I'd feel worse for Sakura.

Naruto frowned, his usual bouncy countenance replaced by something a little more solemn as he thought to himself. I tilted my head, watching him, and could suddenly see a quick flash of the man he would become. There was something about the tilt of his head, the expression in his eyes, that served as a glimpse into the future, and I realized he did look an awful lot like his father.

"I'm not really sure why I'm still here," he said slowly. "I've been training hard every day since Kakashi-sensei showed us how to climb those trees, but today…something told me to wait. Sasuke just called me a loser and left, but I waited anyway. And you woke up today…what does that mean?" Naruto looked up at us, his face full of confusion. I could sense with my Instincts that there was something other than just your run-of-the-mill ninja intuition at work here. I was also willing to bet that it was the Kyuubi.

I exchanged a look with Kakashi before turning my attention back to Naruto. Smiling at him warmly, I told him, "Well, you are a ninja, aren't you? You're supposed to listen to your instincts. Honestly, I'm happy you did, because it was nice to wake up and find that you guys were still around." I grinned sheepishly at him, knowing my explanation sounded lame, but Naruto grinned back at me, giving me a thumbs up.

"No problem, Emily-chan! Anyway, I have to go train now, otherwise Sasuke might beat me and get to the top of the trees first!" Naruto was already running to the door as he spoke, and soon he was gone, leaving me, Kakashi, Tazuna, and Sakura by ourselves in the small main room, with Inari having gone upstairs quietly while no one was paying attention.

A silence descended, with everyone looking around at each other, unsure of what to say. You never really realized how much space Naruto's personality took up until it was gone, and you were left trying to fill in the gap.

Finally, Tazuna cleared his throat. "Since you have nothing else to do today, why don't you come with me to the bridge?" he asked Sakura. She nodded, and the two got up, bidding their farewells. Tazuna left us with instructions that if anything should go wrong, we could find his daughter, Tsunami, for help. We nodded obediently and sat quietly until they'd left.

"Finally!" I breathed a sigh of relief, flopping back onto the ground. "I thought they'd never leave."

Kakashi chuckled, looking down at me. "Honestly, I couldn't wait for them to leave, either," he admitted.

I laughed and sat up again, stretching luxuriously with my arms over my head. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kakashi eyeing my slightly exposed stomach with interest, and a quick sniff told me all about the lust he was currently feeling towards me.

Somehow that had ceased to bother me, particularly now that I could smell it whenever a guy wanted me. What I concerned myself with now were things that even my Instincts couldn't tell me for certain.

Slightly amused, I focused my attentions on attempting to stand up, something I had not yet done since waking up. I managed it with only minor difficulties, but in the process discovered every single hurting point on my body. There were a lot of them.

Finally I was upright, albeit a little winded, leaning against a wall and trying to catch my breath. Kakashi watched me, looking slightly worried.

"Are you sure you should try walking yet? You've been through a lot over the past few days," Kakashi said, his tone reminding me of my mother after I'd suffered from a small cold that had only kept from school for a day. I rolled my eyes.

"Don't worry, Mom, I think I can handle it," I told him, straightening up, but keeping the wall within an arm's length, in case my legs did give out on me.

Hoisting himself off the floor, Kakashi limped over to where I was resting again, and handed me a crutch. I looked at it for a moment, then smiled at him warmly and fitted it under my arm.

"Thanks, Kashi," I said, using the nickname unconsciously. Kakashi raised his eyebrow, but said nothing.

"So, shall we escape this stuffy house and go wander around on the path of life?" he asked me, winking. I grinned and gestured to the door.

"Lead on, O He of Great Path-Walking," I replied.

Laughing, we made our way to the door and stepped outside into the bright sunshine. I paused a moment to soak up the warm rays, taking a deep breath and absorbing all of the smells I found there. My ears were twitching with every rustle of leaves, and I giggled, suddenly feeling very light-hearted.

"If I were stronger I would skip," I singsonged as we made out way down the path headed to the forest. Kakashi chuckled fondly as he looked at me.

"With the way you heal, you'll be skipping again by tomorrow," he said, his amusement clear. I grinned at him cheekily and pointed to my ears, which twitched again as though they knew we were talking about them.

"It's all thanks to the freaky cat powers," I said, flicking my tail to emphasize my point. Kakashi chuckled, then paused, frowning. I stopped and looked at him curiously.

"What?" I asked. Kakashi looked up at my ears.

"You're not hiding them," he said, making it a statement rather than a question.

Unconsciously, my hand went up to my head. "Yeah," I agreed, "I'm not. I dunno, I guess I kinda forgot. Should I be hiding them?" Truthfully, I didn't want to cover them up again. After I woke up, I'd felt this sort of tug, trying to pull me back into being a cat again. I'd forgotten to ask Snickers about it, to see if it was normal. Now, though, I just wanted to leave them and my tail in full view. Hiding them just felt like…I was ashamed of them.

Kakashi looked at me for a long moment before shrugging. "No, I suppose not. I don't think it's a good idea to go into the town like that, though. Why don't we just take a walk in the woods instead? I can show you the training that the three are undergoing…if you want to, that is." Suddenly Kakashi seemed a little embarrassed, and I fought the urge to giggle. Smiling at him instead, I said, "Sure, why not? After all, I've only seen it in a book. Getting a real look at it would be way more fun. Besides, I need to train some more, anyway."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow as he looked at me, still leaning on my crutch a bit heavily. "Are you sure you're up to that?" he asked dubiously.

I opened my mouth, considered it, closed it again, and sighed, shaking my head. "I guess not," I admitted reluctantly. "It's not fair, though. I want to train now, as much as it was torture! I mean, just look at that muscle tone I'm losing!" Instead of showing off my arms, I instead pointed indignantly to my tail, managing to get it to flex itself with relative ease.

Kakashi laughed out loud this time, a real laugh, ringing through the trees and making me look at him in surprise. I'd never heard him laugh like that before around anyone else, and I felt a little glowing flame of happiness in the pit of my stomach to know that I was the only one who could coax it out of him.

We began to walk again, a companionable silence falling over us. I began to rely more on my cat ears than my human ones, experimenting with their range of movement, and trying to see if I could move only one or the other (I could, by the way.)

Slowly, my thoughts began to turn back to my Instincts, and to that odd little tug I'd felt pulling at me from the moment I'd woken up. I pondered idly about what it was, and what it had to do with my Instincts. Searching a little deeper, I discovered the tug seemed to be coming from my Instincts themselves, and so, curious, I began to follow it.

It felt as though I were drawing deeper into myself, being pulled inevitably toward my center, my secret core that held all of my being within it. As I touched upon it, I could feel, in that instant, exactly who I was. I was completely aware of every single part of me, inside and out. It was like someone had handed me an x-ray machine with which I could see into whatever part of me I pleased.

Interested, I paused for a moment, examining my body with curiosity. I'd seen plenty of pictures of internal organs before, nursing being my particular job of choice, but even so, seeing my own innards displayed before me as though I were autopsying myself was a little weird. I quickly became comfortable, however, and spent some time watching my heart pump blood through my veins to the rest of my body as I walked. I was actually surprised to find that I was still walking, with how far I had fallen inside myself. I could still feel that there was a ways to go, too. The tug had gotten stronger, and had been with me the whole time I had been examining my own body.

With a regretful mental sigh- seeing as I had no physical body in this state- I began to follow the path laid before me by the irresistible pull, but not before noticing an odd myriad of thin purple lines, weaving a complex path through my body. The purple brightened briefly with every beat of my heart, as though blood was being pumped through them as well.

What were they? I wondered to myself as I meandered deeper into my own core. I would have to figure it out later.

It steadily became darker, and soon I realized that I was alone. Before, I had still been vaguely aware of my own consciousness, my body still taking steps alongside Kakashi as we walked down the forest path together. Now, though, I realized that I couldn't even feel that anymore. The helpful little tug, which had been lighting my way like a tiny beacon, was now gone as well. I was alone, and it was dark.

I tried to feel around for something, anything, but there was nothing to feel. Here, it was just me, and me alone.

I began to feel scared. What if I never got out of here? What if I had to spend the rest of my existence wandering around in this lonely place? What if I never saw any of my friends or family again?

I had to go and follow the light, didn't I?

I was on the verge of a panic attack, but I tried to keep myself calm, taking deep breaths and reminding myself that, if there was a way in, there was a way out. I just had to find it.

I tried to feel around again, for a wall, a door, something. Suddenly I realized that there wasn't even a floor to stand on, and I was just floating in endless darkness.

"H-hello?" I called, my voice cracking. "Is anyone there who can help me?"

At first I thought there was nothing, and I truly was alone. Despair overwhelmed me. I was never getting out.

_Be calm, kitten. There is a way._

I blinked, squinting and trying to see into the blackness. "Hello? Who's there?" I called tentatively.

A soft chuckle, echoing around me like distant thunder. _I am Raion. I live within your deepest soul, the very center of your being. You are one of my children, and so is your sister._

I blinked. "What do you know about Mel? Is she okay?" I asked worriedly.

_She is safe, but not for long. You must return to your world soon, or she will be in great danger, and so will your mother. The Seal is wearing off._

A thrill of fear went through me. "What do you mean? What's going on? Is my mom okay? Is Dad alright?"

_I cannot tell you, it is not my place. All I can help you with is to shift your forms from human to Neko and back. This is the place where you can do so._

"How?" I asked, wishing I could see. A small part of my brain informed me that since this was a part of my subconscious, I couldn't exactly flip a switch, because there was no open space to do so, but I ignored it.

_You must embrace your true self, that of your inner being. You are Neko-Ninnin, the Pride of Raion. Embrace your true essence, and emerge reborn._

"Wait…will I be able to turn back once I change?" I asked suspiciously. I didn't want to be a cat forever, as much as my Instincts yearned to remain as one.

Raion laughed again, a warm sound that made me feel cozy and safe. Suddenly the blackness didn't seem so bad. In fact, I thought I could see a light, shining above me…

_Our time runs short. I will have to send you back to yourself now, kitten. You will make a great warrior someday, I know it. Ah, how I long for the days of old, before all this trouble began. We could have had long conversations, you and I. _Raion sighed wistfully.

_Still, nothing can be done. I am proud of you, kitten. Your journey has just begun, but you shall rise to the challenges set before you, and surpass them. Be wary of the Kyuubi, he shall seek to thwart you._

"Wait, what? What do you mean, he'll seek to thwart me?" I asked quickly, but it was too late. Raion's essence filled me to the brim, and I was no longer Emily, human from another dimension. I was Neko-Ninnin, child of Raion and Keikoku, a creature of beauty, of power.

As I rushed back to the surface, I began to feel my limbs twisting and shrinking, at the same time that I remembered myself. Before I knew it, the darkness was left behind, and I was once again in the world of reality, a noisy, crowded place compared to my quiet sanctuary.

"Emily?" A startled Kakashi asked the question, and I looked up, blinking at him sheepishly.

"Hey, Kakashi. Sorry about that…my Instincts were calling me, and- you know what? It's a long story, let me tell you it later," I said, flicking my tail apologetically.

Kakashi shook his head, still looking shaken, and I felt a sudden wave of guilt for startling him.

"Sorry, Kashi. I didn't mean to scare you," I told him, purring sympathetically and rubbing myself against his leg. Kakashi made an embarrassed noise and looked away.

Feeling no less embarrassed myself, I shook myself briskly and bounded along the path, leaving Kakashi to follow behind me.

"Don't ever make a fool of yourself again, do you hear?" I scolded myself. "I oughta beat my ass within an inch of my life, but it's a bit difficult to beat my own ass…maybe I can have Kakashi do it for me…hmm…"

My thoughts trailed off into a bit of a different kind of beating, and so I almost didn't realize there were other people nearby until I heard one's voice shouting.

"Take that, Sasuke! I'm almost higher than you are!" an excited voice shouted from the tree nearest me.

My fur bristling in alarm, I stopped mid-step and darted behind the nearest bush, peering out from underneath it with wide eyes.

Taking a cautious sniff confirmed my suspicions, however, and I relaxed a bit. Naruto and Sasuke were training in the clearing that I had nearly stepped into by mistake. I imagined that attempting to explain why I was a cat _while _I was a cat wasn't going to make anything easier, so I wanted to explain things while I was human. I was definitely not human right now, as was obvious to see.

Kakashi was slowly approaching the end of the path, and so I snuck out from under my bush to meet him, stopping a few feet in front of him so he wouldn't step on me. He raised an eyebrow as he watched me approach and skid to a stop.

"What's wrong?" he asked, seeing my widened eyes.

I looked as sheepish as a cat could look. "I almost let Naruto and Sasuke see me like this," I said, licking my chest fur embarrassedly. Kakashi chuckled, and I smelled another wave of fondness from him. Jeez, I hadn't realized you could scent people's emotions so well when you were a cat. No wonder they preferred solitude most of the time. There was simply too much to smell.

"Is there any way you could change back now besides nearly dying, so we could walk into the clearing?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow at me. I narrowed my eyes at him and flicked my tail in annoyance.

"Not my fault you summoned a big-ass wave to take out one guy," I muttered. "But yeah, I should be able to do that. I've never done it before, though, so I don't know how long it'll take."

Kakashi nodded, leaning against a tree to catch his breath. I realized he looked tired, and instantly felt guilty. He should be in bed, resting, not out tromping around in the woods. He was only a man, after all.

Seating myself on the ground, I curled my tail around my legs and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. My Instincts dragged me down quickly this time, and before I knew it, I was in my inner core once more.

Instead of searching around blindly, I quieted my mind and opened it to thoughts of me. My human body, with its cat features. I thought about my long blonde hair, which I should have cut months ago but didn't have the time, my bright blue eyes that had always seemed an unnatural shade to me. My hands, my feet, even my freckles. I thought about it all, ran over it in my mind, then wished to _become _it.

And suddenly, I was.

Blinking, I looked around me, flexing my fingers experimentally and wiggling my toes. Kakashi looked only slightly less surprised than before.

"Did you know your cat skin grows over your clothes?" he asked me as I stood up and brushed myself off.

Surprised, I shook my head. "No. I've never watched myself shift before. What's it look like?" I asked curiously.

Kakashi paused for a moment, thinking. "It's sort of like watching a movie where they have the growth of a plant shown speeded up," he said. "You watch it change and grow and shift, looking as though years pass in seconds. That's the best way I can describe it."

I nodded thoughtfully, processing that information. "At least I get to keep my clothes on," I said at last, grinning. Kakashi chuckled and shook his head, and gestured toward the clearing, where the sounds of Naruto and Sasuke training were still clearly audible to my ears.

"Shall we go?" he asked me. I nodded, and headed to the gap in the trees.

"Yeah. Let's get this over with," I said.

* * *

i just had a thought. *taps chin thoughtfully* my brithday is the 23rd, so this coming Sunday. (the day after Ash Ketchum's! XD) maybe i should write an extra little bit of awesomeness as a gift to me, because im selfish like that. XD  
the question is: what to write? anyone got any ideas? review or message me, id be cool with something to work on. :D


	17. Chapter 16

...*looks ashamed* im the worst writer in the history of writers. my ass is so lazy i dont even have words to describe it.  
it was my brithday over this weekend, obviously. :P and my original plan was to have a doulbe update and a little unrelated fluffy chapter to go with it. but NO. i had to be a lazy bum and barely do anything before my weekend started, so i had no time AT ALL to do anything over the weekend. which i knew was going to happen, by the way.  
so, that means all you get is a lousy regular update. but this rediculousness will end, and at the very least there WILL be a fluffy chapter before the week is out. i swear on my life.  
alright. on a lighter note, ive been really excited to let you guys see this chapter. :D hopefully im not rushing into craziness here, but damn, i couldnt help it. XD  
enjoy! ;D

* * *

I emerged into the clearing just in time to watch Naruto fall from the tree and land squarely on his ass. It looked like it hurt. It also looked like he'd done it before… a lot.

Instead of crying out, however, Naruto just bit his lip in grim silence and stood up again, eyeing the tree before charging at it at full run, leaping up it until he was nearly level with Sasuke before falling again.

Kakashi opened his mouth to speak, but I shushed him, looking at a tree nearby and mentally gauging its height and difficultly to climb.

I let my consciousness slip into my Instincts, and, reacting to my desires, I could feel myself grow little claws where my fingernails were.

Kicking off my shoes, I studied the tree for a little bit longer, then ran at it, leaping up as high as I could to sink my nails into the bark. I ascended rapidly, perhaps not as high as the genin, but reminding myself that I wanted to get down without breaking any bones.

Picking a sturdy-looking branch, I leapt on it, and as a last-minute thought, I hung upside down by my legs, grinning cheekily at the two thunderstruck ninja, aware my pupils were slitted and my fangs were clearly visible.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kakashi shake his head, looking amused. I grinned at him, and he limped into the clearing, calling up to me, "I thought you were still weak!"

I shrugged, which felt kind of odd to do upside-down. "I thought so too. My Instincts tell me otherwise, apparently." I grinned again. "Plus, I don't need chakra to do this!" Demonstrating my supreme tree-climbing skills, I proceeded to scramble farther up the trunk…and miss my footing.

Things slowed down again, and I felt myself twist automatically, attempting to position myself with my feet facing downward.

Suddenly, though, my descent was halted. There was a soft grunt from above me, and looking around, I realized Kakashi had run up the tree and caught me before I fell.

I blinked up at him. "The hell, Kashi? I thought _you _were still weak?"

He managed a strained chuckle. "I am. I think I may drop you any minute."

Oops. I looked around and scrambled for a hold on the nearest branch. Crouching low to it, my tail lashing in agitation from the scare, and my ears pressed back against my head, I imagined I looked very much like a cat, judging by the expression on Naruto's face. Sasuke was doing his best to control his face, but I could still sense the shock.

Perhaps it was time to explain. I forced myself to relax, pricking my ears back up and settling myself on the tree in a more human posture, gripping the trunk for support.

Kakashi sat down next to me, and I smiled at him with trepidation. In response, I felt a hand on my lower back, supporting me, and Kakashi gave me a wink.

My smile widened a little, and I gestured for the two genin to move closer. They did so, with some hesitation, and I sighed impatiently.

"Come on, I'm not yelling this story across a clearing," I said to them. They moved closer, and Naruto's jaw jutted out. He folded his arms and stared at me with his eyes narrowed before pointing at me and yelling, as was per his usual way, "Okay, so why do you have cat ears and a tail? And why did you turn into a cat while we were fighting Zabuza? And-"

"Shut up, Naruto," Sasuke said, cutting him off. He was looking at me intently, and I stared back, ears pricked as though waiting for something to happen. Naruto, annoyed, looked between Sasuke and I, and opened his mouth to say something. Kakashi shot him a look, and he shut his mouth again, sulking.

Finally, Sasuke blinked and looked away, and I hid my triumphant grin.

"To answer your questions, Naruto," I said, kicking my legs idly, my tail lazily twitching back and forth, "I'm a Neko-Ninnin."

"What's that?" Naruto asked loudly, and I winced, glancing around as though the trees were listening.

"Shut up, Naruto. Let me explain in my own time," I told him crossly, my tail flicking around a bit harder.

Naruto shut his mouth again and stood with his arms crossed, staring at me expectantly. I sighed and passed a hand over my face; I was actually more worn out than I let on. I was looking forward to getting back and sleeping away the rest of the day, Zabuza Arc or no.

"Anyway. Neko-Ninnin are an ancient clan of half-cat people, and before you ask, you haven't heard of them because we're really secretive and keep to ourselves, because of our appearances." I gestured to my ears and tail, and the two nodded, Sasuke looking thoughtful, and Naruto losing his sullen expression in favor of wide-eyed wonderment. I chuckled to myself. They were still so young.

"What about the turning into a cat thing, then?" Naruto asked eagerly. "Is that some kind of special ninjutsu that your clan can learn? Could you teach me?" I laughed, but paused and had to think about how to explain it to them, seeing as I didn't really know much about it myself. "Well, it's like a Kekkei Genkai of my clan, so no, I doubt you'd be able to learn it," I said at length, smiling fondly at the expression of disappointment on Naruto's face.

"Don't worry, you're pretty damn special all by yourself," I told him, and immediately regretted it as Kakashi shot me a warning look. Whoops. Forgot he didn't know yet. Oh well, no harm done. He'd find out about it soon enough.

Naruto's shining face reminded me just how little he ever really had gotten any praise from anyone. He didn't have parents to tell him what a good job he was doing, or to encourage him when he didn't succeed. His whole life he'd been ridiculed and hated, and he didn't even know why.

The thought made a fierce love for the boy rise in my heart, and I silently vowed to myself that I would never let that happen to him again while I was still here. If Iruka was the father he'd never known, then at least I could be his sister.

"Is there anything else you can do?" Sasuke's eyes were bright with interest, though his tone remained neutral, and suddenly I remembered what happened to him at the end of this series. Given the Curse Mark by Orochimaru, Sasuke became steadily more withdrawn and more revenge-obsessed, until finally he left Konohagakure behind and joined with the ex-Sannin. If I stayed that long in this world-and it was a possibility, I realized with a lurch- then Sasuke might take whatever he knew about me to Orochimaru and tell him about it. Then, I would be in some serious trouble.

After that little revelation, I decided to lie.

"Nah, I doubt it," I said, shaking my head. "Sure, I'm just coming into these powers, so I don't know much about it. But c'mon, look at everything I can do already! What else could I possibly be able to do?"

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Kakashi glance at me briefly, but otherwise he gave no other outward sign of his surprise, though the hand on my back tightened for a moment before relaxing again.

Sasuke nodded slowly, apparently satisfied. Naruto grinned and said excitedly, "Could you show us how you did that tree-climbing thing?"

I extended my hand to him, and out of my fingernails, little sharp claws sprang. Naruto almost fell off of his branch, and I laughed.

"That's how," I told him simply, and jumped to the ground, landing lightly and feeling pretty badass.

Kakashi, sensing my mood, merely shook his head in amusement and jumped down after me, landing a bit hard and staggering slightly. Alarmed, I took his arm and put it around my shoulders, and he nodded at me in thanks.

Looking up, I called to the two boys still in the trees. "We're gonna head back now. Catch you guys later!" I waved with my free hand, and we set off back in the direction we came.

Once we were out of sight of the clearing, Kakashi's arm slid from around my shoulders to my waist. Neither of us commented on the movement, but I felt a small smile turn the corners of my mouth as we walked.

"So, how do you think I did?" I asked at length, to break the silence that had fallen.

"I think you did relatively well, though I wonder why you left out so much of the story," Kakashi said, raising an eyebrow at me. I winced.

"Yeah…um, I don't trust Sasuke," I said, biting my lip. I didn't want to reveal too much of the story, in case I messed something up.

But what if I could save him?

I paused, suddenly torn. Kakashi looked at me curiously.

"Emily? Is something wrong?" he asked, but I didn't really hear him. It was only when his hand reached up and gently turned my face toward his that I realized he was speaking to me.

"Ah, sorry, Kakashi. I'm having an internal war with myself," I said.

His hand lingered on my cheek. "About what?" he asked softly, his voice barely above a whisper.

It was as though for a moment I could see both of his eyes, and they stared deeply into mine. I felt myself leaning toward him of my own accord, and heard myself whisper, "About changing the world."

I don't know why I pulled back. It was the perfect moment, everything felt right, _was _right. But some tiny, dark corner of my brain screamed at me that I couldn't stay here, that if I fell for him I would never see my family again.

So I pulled back and tried to ignore the lurch my heart gave and the protest of my body at pulling away. It was two to one, but I still won out.

Avoiding Kakashi's gaze, I said, "Come on, we should be heading back. They'll be wondering where we are."

Kakashi nodded dumbly and followed after me. His arm wasn't around my waist anymore, and I tried to ignore the way that made me feel.

_Too late, too late… _the odds against me chanted. I squeezed my eyes shut tight, beginning to believe them. Perhaps I would one day find a way back home, but I knew I would be leaving my heart behind.

Eventually we made our way back to Tazuna's home, entering quietly. Snickers sensed our moods and kept her mouth shut, merely nodding to me in greeting before returning to washing herself, which she had been in the middle of doing when we entered.

Suddenly hit by a wave of exhaustion, I crawled under the blanket of the pallet set down for me, and was about to drift off into the glorious abyss of sleep when Snickers' voice found its way into my mind.

…_I hope that you are well._

Surprised, I almost nodded, then, on a whim, decided to see if I could use telekinesis as well as she could.

_I'll be fine. It was my fault, anyhow._

At first I thought it hadn't worked after all, and was opening my mouth to speak out loud when Snickers spoke again, sounding a bit dazed.

_You have some truly spectacular powers, _she said. _Without any training you managed to change into your Neko Stage, but also to form a telekinetic link with me, and a strong one, at that. I'm going to need to teach you to control your thoughts, but just the very idea of you accomplishing this on your own is astounding._

I felt a brief little spurt of pride at the praise, and remembered Raion's words. _You are Neko-Ninnin, Pride of Raion._

Snickers' shock increased tenfold, and I nearly flinched with the feel of it hitting my senses.

_He told you what? _she demanded.

_He called me…the Pride of Raion, _I answered, somewhat tentatively. Was that a bad thing?

_Oh, no, no. definitely not. You're quite full of surprises, aren't you? I can't wait to meet your sister. _Snickers said dryly, and she curled up against my back.

Slightly surprised, I relaxed after a moment, realizing I rather enjoyed the feel of her warmth lying against me. I was about to ask another question, but Snickers heard it first and answered me.

_To be the Pride of Raion is a great honor, Emily. _she said. _Very few are born with the natural talent required to utilize this skill._

_What is it? _I asked. Sleep was overcoming be quickly, and I could already feel my brain drifting away from the subject.

Snickers felt it too, and her quiet laugh echoed through my mind. _All in due time, kitten. _she said. _All in due time._

I was grateful that they bothered to wake us up for supper, because the moment I regained consciousness I was ravenous.

I was handed a bowl of rice with some sort of flavoring in it, and I studied it dubiously, my Instincts recoiling in disgust. But I didn't want to be rude, so I began to eat it anyway, heaving a small sigh and eyeing the fish Snickers was eating with jealousy.

Her amused chuckle echoed through my head, and, after glancing around to make sure no one was looking, she ripped off a chunk of fish and pushed it over to me.

I grabbed it up and swallowed it before anyone noticed, my taste buds thrilling at the taste of the uncooked meat, despite it having been in the mouth of my cat and then pushed across a floor to me.

Man, I wanted more fish.

Instead, I ate the rest of the boring rice, telling myself that I needed to regain my strength, and staving myself because of the gross rice wasn't going to help. Then I remembered that this was probably all they had, and they were greatly depleting their already meager food stores by trying to feed us all. That shut me up, and I continued to eat my rice with less inner complaint.

As I ate, I wondered idly where in the series we were. Obviously we hadn't hit the main fight in the Zabuza arc yet, but I knew we were drawing near to it. How long before we were destined to meet on that unfinished bridge?

I realized that Tazuna hadn't told Inari's story yet, or, at least, not while I was awake. I was pretty sure things happened rather quickly after that, and the thought sent a shiver down my spine. I was not ready at all to be in a fight, and to be in a fight with experienced ninja such Zabuza and Haku…

I could be killed.

Luckily, the sound of someone getting up abruptly and storming away stopped me from following that train of thought. Looking around, I realized Inari had left the table, and felt a wave of compassion for the boy. He'd been through some harsh times, for such a young kid.

"Father! I told you never to talk about him in front of Inari!" Tsunami said angrily to Tazuna.

_Wasn't it the pink one's fault that it happened? _Snickers said questioningly into my mind. Despite the seriousness of the situation, I laughed a little to myself and nodded slightly. _That's what I thought, too. I always wondered why Sakura didn't feel bad about bringing it up or something. _

"What's wrong with Inari?" oblivious Sakura asked.

Tazuna paused before explaining. "Inari used to have a father, though not related by blood. They were very close. Inari used to laugh a lot, back then…"

I realized Tazuna was trembling with suppressed emotion, and cursed Sakura for her bimbo behavior. The man pulled himself together, though, and continued.

"But after that day, he changed…the day the word 'courage' was stolen from the people of this island, and most of all, from Inari…"

"What happened?" This time it was Kakashi who asked. _If anyone else asks that question, I'm gonna smack them, _I grumbled to myself. Snickers chuckled, but we quieted as Tazuna began to tell the story.

"First, I must tell you about the man this town used to call a hero.

"It was about three years ago when Inari met him. The boy had been bullied by a few of the bigger boys in the town, and they threw his puppy into the sea, and then him along with it. Inari couldn't swim, and nearly drowned."

There was a small gasp from Sakura at this, but Tazuna wasn't finished yet.

"The man's name was Kaiza, and he was a fisherman who had come to the town to follow his dreams. He saved Inari and punished the boys who had picked on him. From that day forward, Inari and Kaiza were inseparable, and it wasn't long before he became a part of the family. And eventually, Kaiza became exactly the man this village needed.

"One day there was a horrible storm, and one of the sectors of our city was going to be flooded unless the gate could be closed. No one was willing to be the one to swim through the rapids caused by the flooding to tie a rope to the gate so it could be closed...except for Kaiza."

Everyone was quiet. I'd heard this story before already, but it was sad to have to hear Tazuna tell it himself, when he was so obviously close to tears.

"Kaiza bravely leaped into the rushing rapids, and no one thought he was going to make it…but he did. The whole town called him a hero, and Inari couldn't be prouder of his father." Briefly Tazuna's face lightened at some distant memory none of us could see, but then a dark shadow passed across it, and he spoke quietly.

"But then…Gato came to town. And in front of everyone, Kaiza was executed."

It was dead silent. I could actually hear people breathing, it was so quiet. There was a rushing in my ears, which, after a moment, I was able to identify as my own heart beating.

There didn't seem to be anything anyone could say. Naruto was staring off into the middle distance, looking thoughtful. Suddenly he stood up and attempted to make his way toward the door, but tripped over a chair and landed flat on his face.

That seemed to diffuse the tension in the room for a moment, and Kakashi said, with a tone of amusement in his voice, "If you're thinking about trying to train again, I suggest you take a day off, Naruto. If you use any more chakra, you could kill yourself."

"I'm gonna prove it…" Naruto muttered, pushing himself off the floor. "I'm gonna prove to him that heroes do exist in this world!"

I grinned and pushed aside my half-eaten rice. Naruto was on his knees, panting slightly, when I extended a hand to him.

Surprised, he looked up at me questioningly. I smiled.

"C'mon, it's just a hand. You don't have to prove yourself to be a hero by trying to get off the floor by yourself."

Slowly, Naruto took my hand, and I pulled him up. He smiled up at me, and I returned the grin, holding my fist up. He touched his knuckles to it, and I felt a surge of love for the kid.

"I'm going with him," I announced to the room in general. Kakashi looked as though he were about to say something, then sighed and nodded. I smiled my thanks, and something flashed in his eyes as he smiled in return.

Sakura opened her mouth to protest, but I shot her a look and she stayed shut up.

As we left, Naruto looked up at me curiously. "Why are you always on my side?" he asked.

I looked down at him and ruffled his hair, grinning. "Because, dude," I said. "Someone's gotta show 'em how it's done."

Naruto grinned widely at me, and I winked, shifting into my cat form.

"Race ya there!" I called, already running.

Naruto laughed and ran after me. "You cheater!" he cried. "You didn't say go!"

Naruto was passed out under the tree, the kunai held loosely in his hand. I was pretty worn out myself, but I hadn't been exerting my chakra the way he had. Actually, I still didn't know if I had any myself.

In sleep, the boy looked younger, more innocent. Shadows I hadn't realized he had around his eyes were gone, and the image of barely contained energy he projected relaxed.

I smoothed the hair on his head, taking the kunai from his hand and studying it. Then, carefully looking around to make sure no one was watching, I aimed and tossed it at a fallen leaf on the other side of the woods.

I hit it. Blinking, I stared at the kunai and the leaf it had speared.

"Damn," I muttered to myself.

There was a chuckle from behind me, and Snickers stepped into view. She eyed the kunai and the leaf with approval before trotting across the clearing to sit in front of me.

_Well, what did you expect? _she asked. _You are Neko-Ninnin. It's your nature to be accurate._

I laughed, and relaxed against the tree. "I suppose so. It takes some getting used to, though."

Snickers nodded. _I suppose it would. I've simply been accustomed to it, because I was born that way. You've had to face many challenges since coming here, haven't you? _

I sighed and nodded. "Yeah, it's been a wild ride. I'm sure there's a lot to go before this is over, huh?"

Snickers sighed and nodded. _Unfortunately, for you, yes, there is much to learn before this is over._

I sighed again and closed my eyes for a moment, letting my thoughts drift. I wished there was a way I could help Naruto, but I didn't know how.

Snickers' voice spoke into my mind again, surprising me. _You know, you do have chakra, _she said.

I blinked and looked at her. "I do?" I echoed.

She nodded. _Yes. That chakra can be used to either help or heal, and each Neko-Ninnin twin is more proficient in one than the other._

Gee, thanks for telling me that now. "Healing? How do I do that?"

Snickers stood up and walked over to the still-sleeping form of Naruto. _It's a bit difficult to explain, _she said. _But I can try._

Nodding, I stood up and crawled over so I was hovering over the boy. Luckily he was still out, otherwise I would've felt really awkward about this.

_Now, place your hands on his chest and feel the movement of his body, _Snickers instructed. I raised my eyebrow at her, but did as I was told.

I gasped. Once I concentrated, it was easy to feel the various workings of his body, even the chakra lines that twined throughout it. Weirdly enough, as I focused more on the chakra, I could feel a sort of double layer of it. There was the normal amount of chakra that Naruto possessed, but I could sense something…else. Something more sinister.

"I can feel it," I said to Snickers. She nodded.

_Good. Now, find that inner core of yourself and use your chakra network. Focus it into your hands, and place it on the areas that are worst for the boy._

I did so, placing my hands on Naruto's arms. Once I focused my chakra, a purple glow suffused my hands. I blinked, surprised, and almost lost my focus.

"Um, it's purple," I said, managing to regain control. Snickers chuckled and nodded. _Yes, that would be the mixing of your normal chakra and the chakra of Raion within you, _she said.

Cool. "Okay, now what?" I asked, leaving my hands over the arm closest to me.

_Now, you must push that chakra into his body, to heal the wounds caused by exertion, _Snicker said. _Do it carefully, though. Too much force and you could crush his arm._

I tried to do as she said, but the moment my chakra entered his body, a huge mass of chakra, boiling with hatred and rage, shoved me back out.

I stumbled back on my hands, looking with shock at the unmoving form of Naruto on the forest floor.

"Did you see that?" I asked, breathing deeply to calm myself. Snickers shook her head, confused.

_What happened? _she asked. _All I could see was you pulling your chakra back out and then stumbling backwards._

"It wasn't me who did it," I said, realizing what had happened. "It was the Kyuubi sealed inside of him. He won't let me heal Naruto, because he hates us."

Snickers blinked. _I hadn't thought of that, _she said.

I nodded and laughed bitterly. "Asshole," I said. "If he wants his vessel to die of exhaustion, fine. It's not like I can do anything to stop it."

As if in response to my words, Naruto's scrapes and bruises were suddenly glowing with a faint orange light. As we watched, they healed quickly, and the light died away again.

I shook my head and laughed again. "You're a prick," I told Naruto's body. "C'mon, let's take him home." I scooped up the twelve-year-old and began to make my way back to Tazuna's.

Later on that night, after everyone had gone to bed, I couldn't sleep. Glancing around furtively, I shifted into my cat form and nudged open the back door that led out onto the pier that overlooked the water.

Once through, I shifted back again into my human form and silently closed the door behind me, letting out a small sigh and sitting down on the ground, staring out at the water.

"Can't sleep?" Kakashi asked quietly, from behind me.

I jumped and tilted my head backwards so I could see him. I had surprisingly good eyesight at night, another thing I attributed to the cat in me, and so I could easily make out the pockets and buttons on his jonin vest.

"Why are you still wearing that?" I asked him curiously. "Isn't it uncomfortable to sleep in?"

Kakashi shrugged and sat down next to me on the pier. "Not particularly," he answered, looking out across the water. "But I don't take it off when we're on missions."

I nodded. "That makes sense." A silence descended, and I felt kind of awkward. Memories of what happened today- or rather, what _almost _happened- flashed through my mind, and I searched for something to say.

Finally, Kakashi spoke. "What happened today?" he asked quietly. I hesitated, and finally sighed.

"…It's dangerous to get close to anyone," I whispered at last, squeezing my eyes shut tight so I couldn't see Kakashi's face.

"Why?" he asked, in that same quiet tone. I wanted him to hug me, but at the same time that little part of my brain was screaming at me to just let him know now, and end this before it was too late.

I turned to him, desperate for him to understand. "Because, don't you see? If I let myself get too close to you, it's going to kill the both of us when I leave! I can't-"

Kakashi pressed his lips to mine, and I immediately forgot everything I had been trying to say. It may only have been a mask kiss, but it was the greatest mask kiss I'd ever had in my life.

The only part of my body that protested was that teeny tiny particle of my mind that had a really, really loud voice. Right now it was shouting at me _Pull away! Pull away and end this now!_

The rest of my body told that part of me where it could shove that idea, and I leaned in closer, feeling Kakashi's hand reach up and caress my cheek softly.

After what felt like a lovely eternity of bliss, I pulled back reluctantly, looking at Kakashi with confusion written clearly on my face.

Kakashi laughed quietly, and the affection rolled off of him, a pleasant, happy smell that made me feel slightly giddy. "Sorry," he said. "Revealing my face is a hard thing to do. No one has ever seen it before."

I shook my head and laced my fingers with his, almost unconsciously. "No, that's not what I was thinking about," I said, looking up at him.

Kakashi leaned forward again and pressed his lips to my forehead. "I'm willing to risk heartbreak if you are," he whispered. Then he was gone.

I sat there for a while longer, shifting into my cat form and curling up on the ground, staring out across the water. The moon was a bright crescent in the sky, and the stars sparkled around it like precious stones. There was an exact copy of the scene reflected in the water, and I purred a little to myself, thinking of my own copier.

Hatake Kakashi, the Copy Ninja. _My _Copy Ninja.

I had no trouble falling asleep after that.


	18. Epic Fluffyness Chapter: Emily's Dream

Yay for my birthday! :D that's the one day out of the year where I am special, and there's nothing you can do about it. XD

Anyway, this is Emily's dream that she couldn't remember in the beginning of chapter 17. If you can't stand fluff, I suggest you move on, because this chapter will be so filled with it, it isn't a chapter at all, but a fuffy mini-chapter of much fluff-filled fluffiness.

Sounds soft, doesn't it? :D

Anyway, enjoy, if you like this sort of thing. It just so happens that fluff is my favorite kind of thing, so I hope you can handle it. XD

* * *

The sunlight streaming in through the window hit my face, and I grumbled quietly to myself, turning my head and burrowing it deeper into the chest of the person occupying the bed with me.

He chuckled softly and kissed the top of my head. "Good morning, sleepycat. I'm sorry that horrible sun disturbed your rest with its cheerfully annoying rays. Unfortunately, it means I'm also awake now, but now that you are, too, it could be good, ne?" Kakashi's eyes glinted mischievously as he buried his face into my neck and kissed it hungrily.

I giggled and squirmed away groggily, cracking my eyes slightly to peer at him. "As much as I would love to accommodate your needs, my dear, I'm afraid I wouldn't really be of much use, except for lying there like a dead log," I said, my voice rough with sleep.

Kakashi grinned, and his head dipped a little lower. "I'm sure I could make you move," he whispered, the feel of his lips on my skin sending shivers throughout my body.

I resisted temptation, however, and pushed him off, laughing. Kakashi smiled and pulled me onto his chest, kissing me softly.

"So, what are we going to do today?" he asked, his hand gently tucking a stray lock of hair behind my ear. The silver ring on it glinted brightly in the morning sun, and I took his hand between my own and kissed it, holding it to my cheek and gazing down at him.

"Let's wander," I decided at last. "But let's take a really long time to do anything, because we aren't required to do anything today, and I'm gonna savor it."

Kakashi chuckled softly and kissed me, resting his forehead against mine. "Agreed," he said. "How about we start on that taking forever bit now?"

I grinned down at Kakashi, his Sharingan sparkling mischeviously in the morning light. "Sounds like a plan to me," I said.

An hour or so later, Kakashi and I emerged from the little house we shared together, fingers linked as we leapt up onto the rooftops. My face was still pleasantly flushed, and we walked so close together that I could feel the heat emanating from his body. The pleasant after-buzz of making love was still coursing through my body, and I could hear a purr rise in my throat.

"I love it when you do that," Kakashi murmured, pulling me into a shadowed corner and pulling his mask down to kiss me softly. My arms slid around his neck, and my tail flicked happily from side to side.

There was a break for all of the Rookie 9 teams today and for the rest of the week. The Hokage seemed to have been feeling generous today, and I thanked whoever was watching for small miracles.

I smiled and rested my cheek on his shoulder. "I love you," I whispered.

Kakashi's arms came around me, and I felt him kiss the top of my head. "I love you too," he whispered back. I don't know how many times I'd heard him say that, but I got a little thrill every time he did. It never got old.

Finally we started on our way again, walking side by side with our hands linked. I looked down at the street as we walked, watching people pass by beneath us, going about their daily business. There was just something about the thought of so many people doing so many things at once, just a thriving community, that I loved. It was odd, I know, but I enjoyed it.

"Let's go to the monument," I said suddenly. I had a desire to get as high as possible, to see the humming hive of activity that was Konoha all at once, to be able to feel the energy of thousands of moving bodies simply radiating from the village.

Kakashi seemed to sense my sudden eagerness, and he smiled, letting go of my hand to gesture in front of him.

"Go," he said. "I'll catch up with you in a moment."

I hesitated, not wanting to leave him behind. But then my Instincts urged me on, and I smiled and kissed him on the cheek quickly, taking off and flowing into my cat form at the same time.

I didn't cover as much distance with my smaller form. but I was just as fast, if not faster, than my human self, so the journey wasn't that long. Brightly colored buildings flashed by, just blurs and indistinct forms in my peripheral vision. The Hokage monument loomed in front of me, the stone faces of the past leaders of the village of Konoha staring down impassively at the goings on of the village they once protected.

Rapidly ascending the stairs, I soon stood upon the head of the Fourth Hokage-my favorite- and looked out over the bustling village.

Something about the view made me smile, and I felt Kakashi's arms slide around my waist.

"It's beautiful here," I told him. He nodded and buried his face in my hair.

"It is," he agreed, his voice muffled. "I'm blessed to have been born here."

"And I'm blessed to have been transported here from another world," I responded, chuckling slightly as I turned around to face my lover.

I could see his smile through his mask, and, glancing around to make sure there was no one around, I pulled it down so I could see his face.

He really was handsome, underneath his mask, and when he smiled, the way it made him light up blew me away. The lines on his face were only slightly more pronounced than they had been a year ago, since the knot was tied between the two of us, and I still worried for him constantly because of it. It must be aging me, too, I realized suddenly with a start. After all, I was nearly halfway through my twenties, and as of late I'd been seeing things and learning things about myself that would have broken any lesser girl.

Especially the naked image of Kakashi himself. It took some real guts to be able to handle beauty of that quality.

I smirked to myself, and Kakashi looked at me curiously. I simply smiled at him innocently and pulled him to the ground with me.

We stretched out on top of the monument and stared at the sky. Kakashi's fingers lazily ran through my hair,and a quiet purring rose in my throat. The warm rays of the sun were beginning to drag my eyelids down, and I feared I wouldn't last much longer.

Kakashi's arms gathered me close, and I snuggled into him, tilting my head up for a kiss, which was willingly given. I sighed happily, and Kakashi kissed the top of my head.

"I want it to be this way forever," I murmured, my fingers stroking the scar that slashed down through Kakashi's left eye. His visible eye was dark and solemn as he looked at me.

"I do, too," he answered, taking my hand and kissing it. "But you know we'll have to go back to doing missions soon enough. Just wishing for it isn't enough."

I sighed and closed my eyes. "I'm afraid to lose you," I whispered, feeling my throat tighten at the thought.

Kakashi shushed me and held me close, stroking my hair and whispering into my ear.

"I promise you, you will never lose me. I swear it on my love for you that neither of us shall ever have to live without the other. _I love you_, and I simply cannot say it enough or in the right way to get you to understand how much that is."

I kissed him deeply, letting my lips linger near his when I finally spoke again. "I do know how much you love me, because I love you the same way. I am holding you to your promise, Hatake Kakashi. If you ever break that promise to me..." I couldn't find the words I wanted to speak. I was afraid to tell him what I would do, because I knew he wouldn't like it. It all sounded so melodramatic, anyhow. So I kept that little tidbit of information about just what exactly I would do if I lost Kakashi to myself.

We were silent for a time, simply familiarizing ourselves with the way the other's body was constructed. At one point, I let out a soft gasp and told him, "If you're gonna do that, we may need to head home."

Kakashi chuckled and did it again. My gasp was a bit louder this time, but I had to force myself to push his hand away while simaltaneously resisting the urge to get even with him.

Somehow, I succeeded, and I stood up, ready to leave, only to find myself restrained by Kakashi's arms around my waist.

"Where do you think you're going?" he whispered, his breath hot on my neck. "I'm not finished with you yet."

I twisted to look at him. "You can't be serious," I said in disbelief. "Here? _Now?_ Isn't that a bit disrespectful to the Hokages, and wouldn't you say it's just a little bit public out here in the open?"

Kakashi kissed me deeply, and when he pulled back, he smirked at me. "The Hokage monuments are made of stone, Emily," he said, as though speaking to a small child. "They don't care. And as for it being too public..." He looked around. "We are at least three hundred feet off the ground, love. Very few can actually get up here, and those who can will not come close to it now."

A small shiver went down my spine. Damn. I'd always wanted to, under the stars...

"Alright," I gave in with a sigh. "But you're carrying me home. I don't care if your clothes fall off the side of the monument, either."

Kakashi grinned and kissed me hard enough to take my breath away. "As you wish, Hatake Emily," he said.


	19. Chapter 17

rawr. i hate wordpad passionately. XP i also have dubbed this my lamest chapter ever. total filler, and not even good stuff, either. for that, i apologize, and promise you that A) the chapters will get longer again, and B) there shall be action in the next chapter. XP  
yeesh. seriously, i hate wordpad. i cant gauge how many pages ive written, so i dont know where i deem it a good place to end the chapter, hence the extreme lack of length. XP that, and i realized that this chapter was only half finished and i needed it done TODAY, so i had to hurry my ass along on that count, as well. XP  
so, overall, i apologize for the shitiness that i must call chapter 17.

* * *

I slept deeply and awoke slowly the next morning, filled with a pleasant happiness as the end to a lovely dream floated away from me lazily, slipping through my fingers like smoke. As I fully came to myself, it was gone, but the happy, peaceful feeling remained.

I discovered it was actually rather early, and no one was up yet. Even Snickers still slumbered quietly next to me, curled up in a ball with her tail over her nose.

Kakashi was still asleep, but he was also facing me, and I was content to watch his gentle, deep breathing for a while, his eye closed in the peaceful serenity that only comes with sleep. It makes him look younger, too, and made me wonder how much strain this trip was really putting on him. Not only did he have to worry about protecting Tazuna, the reason this mission had come about at all, but he also had to keep the three clueless genin alive, as well as me. And to top it all off, he was protecting us from Zabuza, the Demon of the Mist. And Haku, but he didn't really know about that yet.

Kakashi opened his eye and looked at me. "Morning," he said, his voice rough with sleep. I tried to ignore the shiver that gave me, and smiled at him warmly.

"Morning, Kashi," I responded, slipping into my cat form and stretching luxuriously, digging my claws into my makeshift bed. Kakashi chuckled, watching me. Then his eye flashed up sharply to something behind me, and I heard a gasp.

Turning quickly, I saw Sakura staring at me in openmouthed wonder. "H-how…" she fumbled, and I sighed.

"Can I tell you over breakfast?" I asked, suddenly realizing that my voice was much higher than it was in my human form. Great, sounding like a squeaky toy was just what I'd always wanted. "I'm starving."

Sakura nodded, and moved to find something to eat. Then I had an idea.

"Wait, hold up," I said suddenly. "Is there any fish left?"

Sakura frowned, but nodded and found one, placing it on the floor for me like she didn't really know what to do with it. I purred my thanks and dug in, savoring the taste of the meat, though a corner of my mind was wishing for redder flesh.

Snickers joined me silently, and I moved over to let her have a share, and as we ate, I told Sakura about my powers, skimming the way I had done with Naruto and Sasuke. By the time I had finished, her eyes were round as saucers, and she stared at me in wonder.

"So you're...like a cat?" she asked, looking dazed. Yeesh, no wonder she sucked so bad in the first series. Girl couldn't even handle a big secret without going starry-eyed.

I nodded slowly and began to wash my face. "Yup, you've got it. Neko-Ninnin, the cat people. It's pretty badass, too, if I don't say so myself."

Kakashi rolled his eye from behind Sakura, and I stuck my tongue out at him briefly, which made him laugh. Sakura looked between us, confused, but I just smiled at her innocently.

At that moment, Tazuna entered the room. I froze for an instant, my mind in a panic, when I remembered that he'd already seen my transformation, and so was going to need an explanation as well.

I flicked my tail at him in greeting. "Hi," I said.

Tazuna jumped violently and stared down at me in shock. "Wha- Who said that?" he demanded.

I laughed. I had to; it was just so funny, with the way his eyes were bugging out of his head, and how his voice cracked when he spoke.

Kakashi was grinning; I could see the outline of it in his mask. Even Sakura had to hold back a giggle, though moments before she'd been the one with the fish-face.

"Um, down here," I said politely. "It's Emily, Mr. Tazuna, remember? The blonde girl who transformed into a cat randomly in the middle of that fight with Zabuza?"

Tazuna still looked startled, but recognition flickered across his features, and he sat down on the floor a little heavily, wiping a hand across his brow.

"Ah, yes, I remember you now. Certainly made a lasting impression the first time. Surprising you caught me off guard a second time!" He chuckled to himself and shook his head.

I thought he was bluffing about not being so startled, but I let it slide and gave him the details, hoping that I wouldn't have to go through it for a fourth time. It was getting irritating, having to explain all this stuff out to people. Maybe I should just start telling them it's my Kekkei Genkai and save myself the trouble...

Tazuna took a moment to absorb the information, then he seemed to palce it in a corner of his mind and was suddenly all business.

"Well, then. Today is the last day of construction on the bridge. It's been a long road to get here, and I don't want anyone stopping me from completing it. So, I would like all of you to accompany me to the bridge to keep guard until I've finnished. If you can spare the orange one and the quiet one, too, that would be helpful."

Kakashi nodded slowly. "I don't believe Naruto should go out today," he said. "He's pushed himself far enough, he deserves a rest. The rest of us should be fit enough to accompany you to the bridge today, though."

Tazuna nodded. "Good. Then, we will leave in half an hour." With that, he got up and left the room.

I phased back into my human form, effectively startling everyone in the room with the exception of Snickers, and stretched luxuriously.

"Alright, cool." I said. "Big-ass fight coming up, and then we can go home. Lovely."

Kakashi looked at me sharply. "What did you say?" he asked.

Sakura was staring at me curiously, so I took Kakashi's arm and led him outside, pausing for a moment to make sure the girl wasn't lsitening on the other side of the door.

"It's the end of this particular part of the series," I said in a whisper, just to be certain. "Zabuza is alive, and the masked boy, Haku, is on his side. They'll both be waiting on the bridge with an ambush."

Kakashi shook his head, staring at me with something like admiration. "Somehow I still can't grasp that you know what's going to happen to us," he said.

I shrugged. "It's weird that I'm even here, so I guess we're even," I said, grinning at him. Kakashi smiled back, and took my hand for a moment. Our eyes locked, and something deeper seemed to pass between us. Then it was gone, and I shook myself mentally, trying to get back on task.

"Okay. So we're leaving in half an hour. Once we get to the bridge, the mist should close in on us. Zabuza sends out some clones, which Sasuke swiftly takes care of. Er, I think Naruto then wakes up and realizes we're gone, so he leaves in search of us. People come to kidnap Tsunami and Inari, and Naruto turns back around and beats the shit out of them. Meanwhile, you guys are kind of in a standstill, because Sasuke gets trapped in Haku's ninjutsu, Ice Mirror or something like that. Zabuza keeps you from helping him, so Sasuke's getting the shit kicked out of him. Naruto shows up and creates a totally useless distraction, and gets himself trapped in the ninjutsu with Sasuke."

I paused to take a breath, and saw Kakashi was shaking his head. "Sounds like Naruto," he muttered. I chuckled, but hesitated to tell the next part, because I knew that it was crucial to the advancement of the general storyline, though it wasn't exactly a good thing.

"Okay, whatever you do with the rest of this story, this next portion I tell you must remain the same. Otherwise there wil lbe big changes in the story, and I don't want anything horrible to happen because we didn't let it work." I told him about the Kyuubi making its appearance when Naruto becomes enraged over Sasuke's apparent death, and how he broke Haku's ninjutsu and nearly killed the boy himself.

Kakashi was silent for a moment before speaking. "The Kyuubi shows itself in Naruto?" he said at last. He sounded stunned. "Then, that means..."

I nodded. "Yeah. It means the Kyuubi willl briefly have control of Naruto, and lend him his powers. It happens more often throughout the story, and sometimes Naruto will take the Kyuubi's chakra himself instead of having it lent to him. But the end result is the same: naruto becomes a pwoerhouse of chakra, almost invincible due to his speed and ferocity. But he becomes terribly dangerous, as well. To mess with him then is asking for serious injury or even death."

Kakashi sighed heavily and stared at the floorboards. "I see," he said at length.

Almost unconsciously, I intertwined my fingers with his, in a vain attempt to reassure him. "Kashi, don't worry. By the end of this, everyone will be fine, I promise." I didn't mention the deaths of Haku and Zabuza. Kakashi would find that out soon enough.

Kakashi turned his face to look at me, and I smiled as comfortingly as I could. Slowly, he reached a hand up to caress my face, and he said softly, "All I can do is trust you."

I didn't know what to say to that, so I tried to look as trustworthy as possible. Kakashi chuckled softly and leaned forward until his forehead was pressed against mine.

"Luckily, I do trust you," he said,

The sound of Sakura calling through the house, looking for Sasuke, brought us back to the present. I could sense that Kakashi didn't really want to have to go back inside, and frankly, neither did I. All I really wanted to do right now was run away into the woods with Kakashi and hide out until this whole thing was over. Unfortunately, though, that wasn't an option, at least not for Kakashi. He had many roles to play yet, and I couldn't just take him away from his duties, no matter how much I wanted to. I didn't have the right.

I sighed and pulled away just as Sakua poked her head out the door, looking around expectantly.

"Saaasuke-kuuun! Saaas- oh, Kakashi-sensei and Emily-chan! Uh, gomen, gomen, I was just-" Sakura was blushing furiously and hurriedly attempting to pull her head back inside the door. Laughing, I stopped her.

"No worries, Sakura. It's cool. Kakashi and I were about to come inside anyhow. Oh, and Sasuke-" I paused to take a sniff- "is in that direction." I pointed into the woods, in the direction of the training grounds.

Sakura's face lit up, and she took off in that direction, calling eagerly, "Saasuke-kuun! Come on, silly, where are you hiding?"

Kakashi sweatdropped, looking after her, and from above, I heard a quiet voice say, "Thank you."

"No problem, Sasuke," I said, without looking up. "I wouldn't wish her on anyone, believe me." Not even someone who's going to the evil side, I added to myself. Not even you.


End file.
